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War in ancient indIA
BY I'UE’ SAME AUTHOR
Hindu Admiiflstrative Institutions.
Studies in Tamil Literature & History
The Mauryan Polity.
Do. a pamphlet in the Minerva series on
Indian Government.
Some Aspects of Va3Ti Purana.
The Matsya Purana — ^a study.
Bharadvaja^ik^a.
. &lappadikfiram.
The Lalita Cult.
v^Kulottunga Chola III (in Tamil).
WAR IN
ANCIENT INDIA
BY
V, R, RAMACHANDRA DIKSHITAR, m.a.
Vnvveraity of Madras
WITH A FOREWORD
BY
Lt.-Col. Dewan Bahadtib
Db, a. LAKSHMANASWAMI MUDALIAK,
M.D., LIj.D., D.SC., F.R.C.O.G., F.A.C.S.
Yice-Vhanccllor^ University of Madras
MACMILLAN AND CO. LIMITED
MADRAS, 'BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, LONDON
1944
FOREWORD
I deem it a privilege to be given tbe opportunity of
writing a foreword to this excellent publication, War .
in Ancient India, at the request of the author, Mr. V. R.
Ramachandra Dikshitar. Mr. Dikshitar’s works have
attracted the notice of scholars, both in the East and the
West, and some of his classics like the Silappadiharam,
have justly won for him wide appreciation. In bringing
out this monumental work on War in Ancient India,
at this particular juncture, Mr. Dikshitar has placed
historians, more particularly Indian historians, under a
deep debt of gratitude.
War is as old as the hmnan race, and despite
pious resolutions and possible prophylactic measures, it
threatens to repeat itself at intervals as long as the
human race lasts! Each century has witnessed a war
more griratond devastating in its effect than the last, and
despite thfPso-ealled march of civilization, atrocities are
being perpetrated in modern times which would make
the warriors of old turn in their graves.
It is refreshing to note how in ancient times at least,
the laws of war were designed to bring out the best and
not the worst of human traits. Chivalry, individual
heroism, qualities of mercy and nobility of outlook even
in the grimmest of struggles were not unknown to the
soldiers of ancient India. Thus among the laws of war,
we find that (1) a warribr in armour must not %ht with
Vi
FOREWORD
one not so clad (2) one should fight only one enemy and
cease fighting if the opponent is disabled (3) aged men,
women and children, the retreating, or one who held a
/straw in his lips as a sign of unconditional surrender
should not be killed. It is of topical interest to note that
^ one of the laws enjoins the army to leave the fruit and
ffower gardens, temples and other places of public
worship unmolested.
c
Thie chapters dealing with' the Departments of
Axmy^ their respective duties, the weapons used in
ancient warfare and strategy and tactics in! war have
been presented in a masterly way and give the reader
a realistic conception of How wars were carried on in
ancient India. No less interesting is the chapter on
Diplomacy and War although one may not be inclined
' to agree with the ethics underlying some of these diplo-
macies. But perhaps state-craft can never be freed from
such unfortunate trends, and one may console oneself
with the thought that it is not the soldiers who are
responsible 'for such state-craft in all ages.
This is a foreword and not a critical review, which
should be left to competent scholars. To the lay mind,
the theme and the method of exposition are so interest-
ing that the book furnishes entertaining reading. It is
gratifying to note that the author has come to the same
conclusion which has been forced on most thinking men,
that war cannot be eradicted, but should be ennobled.
And this can be done only if men of good will foregather,
if men forget the pride of race^nd birth which history
i’OBtJWORD
Vii
unfortunately tries indirectly to preach, if men apply
their minds honestly to the task of the regeneration of
mankind and if humanity adheres to the fundamentals
of all religions and strives to foster the spirit of brother-
hood. In the wordal of the author ‘ Let us think and act
not in terms of nationalism but in terms of inter-
nationalism And by such unselfish conduct even the
most self-centered may feel ultimately that he ensures
his own happiness and that of his narrow clan, or
country much more assuredly than by m^ans of conflicts,
chaos and conflagration!
University op Madras, I
’ 1 A. laksh:manaswami mudaliae
• 1st April, 1944. J
TO
THE CHERISHED MEMORY OF
MY ELDER BROTHERS
BRAHMASRI RAMASWAJMI DiKSHITAR (1874-1941)
AND
BRAHMASrI NATESA DiKSHITAR (1879-1940)
OF VISHNAMPET, TANJORE DISTRICT,
WHO WERE 6RAUTINS IN THE LITERAL
SENSE OF THE TERM, AND WHO, AS
DISTINGUISHED VEDIC SCHOLARS,
FOLLOWED THEIR FOREFATHERS BY
PERFORMING A NUMBER OF VEDIC
YAJNAS LIKE SOMAYAGA, CATURMASYA,
APTORYAMA AND GARUpACAYANA.
PREFACE
The following pages are based on lectures delivered
in the Annamalai University in 1934. This is first
attempt to give an almost complete expositic the
art and the science of war in Ancient Indi id a
consecutive account and the history of Indian tary
tradition. The subject matter covers the whole period
from the earliest times to the end of the Vijayanagar
epoch. The work has been carried through the press
under heavy pressure of war times, and I claim, ^n that
ground, the indulgence of my readers for.mis-prints' that
may have passed uncorrected.
I offer my tribute of respect to Lt.-Col. Dewan
Bahadur Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar, Vice-
Chancellor, University of Madras, who has contributed
a foreword to this book ; his profound learning and vast
experience are only equalled by his courtesy and readi-
ness to afford to others advice, the soundness and value
of which it would be difficult to over-rate. Nor must I
omit to express my warmest gratitude to Rao Bahadur
K. V. Rangaswami Aiyangar and Rao Bahadur C. S.
Srinivasachari for kindly reading the proofs, and
making helpful suggestions, and to the Rev. Fr. T. N.
Siqueira, S.J., for reading the manuscript of the work.
For the arduous task of the compilation of the Index,
I owe thanks to Dr. T. V. Mahalingam, M.A., D.Litt.,
I also desire to thank the Madras School-book and
Literature Society for the generous contribution towards
this publication.
Madras,
5fh April 1944,
y, R. RAMACHANPRA DIKSHITAR,
CONTENTS
Chapter
I The Psychological Background, of
War .
II The Laws of War:
Sec. i Tlie Warrior’s Code
„ ii The Ethics of War .
„ iii Celebrating Victory
„ iv Miscellaneous Regulations .
„ V Dharma Vijaya, Asura
Vijaya and Lobha Vijaya.
III^.^ Weapons of War as gathered from
Literature :
Sec.
i
Bows and Arrows
, ,
9J
ii
Fire Arms
, ,
iii
Other Weapons . .
. .
iv
The Amukta weapons
• .
77
V
Minor and Mystical
wea-
pons of Warfare
, .
77
vi
On Armour
77
vii
Arms and Armour
from
Sculpture
IV Arjty and Army Divisions :
Sec. i Introductory
„ ii Further Divisions
„y^ iii ^Chariots
„ y iv Elephants
„ y V Cavalry
Page
.. 1-39
. 41-57
58-75
75-78
78-80
81-92
93-101
101-106
106-109
110-119
119-125
126-129
130-151
153-156
156- 157
157- 166
166-174
174-179
xiv
CONTENTS
CSAPTER
Page
Sec. vi
Infantry
179-182
vii
The Commissariat
182-186
vili
The Admiralty . .
186-190
ix
Characteristics of a good
Army
190-197
ff
X
Units of the Army
198-199
V
Depaetments of the Aemy :
Sec.
i
War Council
201-206
9}
ii
War Finance-
206-214
77
111
The Arsenal
214-217
77
iv
Foreign Department
217-219
77
V
Intelligence Department . .
219-220
77
vi
Army Officers
220-231
77
vii
Non-Military Officers
231-233
VI
Strategy and Tactics op War;
Sec.
i
Introductory
235-237
77
ii
Strategical considerations . .
237-241
77
iii
The Camp
241-243
77
iv
Site for the Battle-field . .
243-247
^ 77
V
Construction and Siege of
Forts
247-264
vi
Tactics
264-274
VII
4erial and Naval Warfare:
' See.
i
Aerial Warfare . .
275-284
77
ii
Naval Warfare . .
284-298
vni
'"Diplomacy and War:
Sec.
i
History of Diplomacy
299-312
77
ii
The Sixfold Policy
312^4
77
* iii
Instruments of Diplomacy.
324^^
77
iv
JnternMioiml IJol^^tiops * , .
33|h386
Chaptbb
IX Diplomatic Agents:
Sec. , i The Place and Function of
Ambassadors
„ ii Espionage in War
Conclusion
Appendix i Manuscripts
„ ii Flags in Ancient India > .
„ iii War Music . . i.’.
„ iv Curiesities of War
Books consulted . .
Index
3tV
Page
337-S51
351-361
361-362
3^366
367-376
377-380:
^1-388
389r^7
398-416
CHAPTER I
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF WAR
INTRODUCTORY
The history of ancient India is largely a history of
Hindu culture and progress. Hindu culture* has a
dmtinct claim to a higher antiquity than Assyrian schools
would claim for Sargon I and as much or even a higher
antiquity than Egyptian scholars would claim for the
commencement of the first dynasty of Kings. One
aspect of this culture consists in India’s political
institutions which were almost modem. Among these
we are concerned in this study only with the institutions
of war. Modem warfare has developed on mechanical
lines, giving less scope for the qualities of courage
and individual leadership, and we doubtless see further
accentuation of these traits in the present World War.^
AMONG THE TRIBES
^War is a political institution and a necessary eviL^
To-day we speak of a new world order and realise that
the call to j^iHnanise has a precedence even over defence.
jjn spite bfl^is new view^ which implies the cultivation
of iatemational-mindedness, every country.is now either
at War or on a footing of war-preparedness. . This means
we are unable to shake off bellicosity completely,'
1 See, for example, How to Prevent War by a number of
writers and published by Victor GoUancz Ltd., Lond(m.
1>~1
8 WAK IN ANCnONT INDIA.
(To the early tribes war was a holy funetion.) Before
the actual expedition, they offered sacrifices to the tribal
god or goddess. (The idea was that god was all-powerful
and would protect the soldiers and confer victory in war.|)
The notion was entertained that the gods of these tribes
‘ ‘ went in person with them to war — an idea which
totemism bequeathed to more advanced stages in religion,
*: for instance, to Peruvian polytheism.’ ^ We learn from
the Tamil classic Silappadikaram that the Eiynar,
perhaps the aborigines of South India, who lived by
cattle-fifting and highway robbery, invariably invoked
the aid of their goddess Korravai, the deity who led the
Eiynar host in all their expeditions with a view to
securing for them victory and getting in return sacrifices
of both animals and men.® Bows and arrows were their
principal weapons, though the use of spears was not
unknown.
THE EARLY INDO-ARYANS
V
The aboriginal tribes were not all entirely hunters
or marauders. Some took to a pastoral life and they
cultivated the arts of peace while pursuing a primitive
form of agriculture. To this category belonged the
so-called Indo- Aryans of the Ilg Vedic period. They
settled in the plains, especially on the banks of rivers
and streams, and counted their wealth by the heads of
cattle they possessed, ^hese primitive nomad tribes,
whidi took to agriculture and cultivated habits of peace
and not of war, became warlike through the ages and
'*^2 P. B. Jevonsr An Introduction to the History of Religion
(6th ed.), pp. 108 and 242.
, 3 V. R. R. Dikshitar; ^Uappadikdram, pp. 180-89; * Eiynar ’
to Sen TamU, Madnra, Vd. XXXI, No. 1.
PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKOBOUMO
3
by force of circumstaiices! ^ First, the pressure of an
ever-increasing population drove them to seek new
settlements and new homes. In this expansion they
came into effective contact with peoples alien to their
culture, who would not suffer the intrusion of foreigners
into their ancient and simple habitat. It was natural
that they rose in revolt and the intruding tribes were
forced to defend themselves against the armed attacks
of the natives of the soil. ^Thus the defence complex
fired their psychological impulses, and the result was the
outbreak of hostilities. 1
^In this connexion we may examine a few passages
in the Aitareya Brdhmana^ where it is said that a war
broke out between the Devas and the Asuras. The latter
had an organization and a leader and were successful
against the unorganized hordes of the Devas, identified
with Indo-Aryans, who were utterly routed. This signal
defeat at the hands of the Asuras set the Devas think
about their future. So they resolved to elect a king who
was to be their leader in war. The Indo-Aryans attri-
buted the success of their enemies to their leader and
king. So the Aryan peoples met and elected a king
from among themselves. ’
Here we have a reliable piece of evidence to prove
that the institution of kingship in ancient India origi-
nated in war as it did in Europe.' If we are to identify the
Devas and the Asuras with the Aryans and Dravidians,
the testimony of history supports the earlier advance-
ment of political institutions among the Dravidians,
which served for the Indo-Aryans as a model to copy
and follow. We may note, in passing, that war, which
3a See Dikshitar ; Hindu Administrative Institutions, pp. 62-63.
4
WAR IN ANCISNT INDIA
is largely regarded as a political institutioD, was in
existence before a political society came into being, and
long before the primary political institution of kingship.
Can we not, then, say that war preceded all political
institutions, and t^t with a settled order of society with
the monarch at its top it came to* be regarded as a
necessary political instrument? Survivals of implements
of wood and stone of a very primitive epoch indicate that
the institjition of war was very ancient, more ancient
than , we are ordinarily led to imagine.
SETTLED SOCIETY
^ With a settled society, the State emerged and in-
augurated laws of marriage and property. The sanctity
of family life and the rights of private property led to
,the increasing complexity of society. This resulted in
the formation of different classes, or what in India we
would call castes. To ensure social harmony, society
was divided into a number of communities, each com-
munity being assigned particular duties (svadharma),
to be discharged by it for the common welfare of
all communities, without prejudicially infringing the
duties and rights of other communities. In short,
society was evolved on an economic basis which was
well suited to the exigencies of those days. With the
introduction of stringent laws and conventions which
tended to bind sodety together as one whole, it was
found that without some absolute authority to enforce
.. these laws and customs society would not progress.
?Hence the inauguration of dcmM, or punishment, for
the infringement of laws and customs, and of the
damdodha/ra, or King. The instruments of this
were the police and the army, though the institution
mCBOLOOtCAL. BACKOBOXmO
0
of police came later in the story of India’s political
advancement. '
THE WAEIHOB CASTE
Thus the value and importance of the army were
realised very earljt in the history of India, and this led '
in course of time to the maintenance of a permanent
militia to put down dissensions within and arrest
aggressions from without. Of capital importance to the
execution of both foreign and home policy was the
institution of the army. War or no war, the anhy was
to be maintained, to meet any unexpected contingency.
In a country where there were many castes and com-
munities whose occupations were hereditary, the stand-
ing army came to consist largely of the members of the
hereditary fighting castes, thus maintaining a group
solely devoted to the waging of war. This gave rise to
the K§atriya or warrior caste, and the kscUram dharmam
came to mean the primary duty of war. To serve the
country by participating in war became the svadharma
of this warrior community. How this had a salutary
effect on the administration of the land, a study of
the history of ancient India will demonstrate. The cut-
and-dry distinction of the civil population from the
military and the equally clear distinction between the
civil and military functions of the State helped to a
large extent not only the progress of civil administration
but also the moral and material welfare of the land.
This cut deep at the root of that mental attitude now
called militarism.
We are told that the educational system in Italy
under the Fascists and in Germany under the Nazis has
been directed so as to develop the militarist attitude
6
WAR IN ANCIENT INDU
among the people. It prepares the whole community
for war. There are again nations which advocate
conscription involving compulsory military service for
male adults. This necessarily leads to the separation
of the sexes and affects the entii'e social structure.
' Things were different in ancient Indi^. No doubt there
was compulsory military service. But it was confined
to one particular caste and it was not universal. The
necessary education, drill, and discipline to cultivate
militarism* were confined to the members of one com-
munity, the K§atriyas. This prevented the militant
attitude from spreading to other communities and kept
the whole social structure unaffected by actual wars and
|war institutions. Says the Atharva Veda: ‘May we
I revel, living a hundred winters, rich in heroes The
^hole country looked upon the members of this parti-
/cular community as defenders of their country and
^consequently did not grudge the high influence and
power wielded by the Ksatriyas, who were assigned a
social rank next in importance to the community which
ministered to the intellectual and spiritual needs of the
society.®
4 Bk. XIX, 12. 1. Harvard Oriental Series — Trans, by W. D.
Whitney.
5 A thesis has been put forward by Prof. N. Ghose of the Dacca
University in his Indian Literature and Culture Origins, that it was
the YrS.tyas who occupied the ancient Magadha and Anhpa Defe
and supplied man-power to the Indo- Aryans; that these Vifttyas
became absorbed into the Aryan fold by the Vrfitya Stoma ceremony,
whi(di is, according to him, a conversion ritual; that these Yrfttyas
formed the warrior caste and fought battles on behalf of the Indo-
Aryans; that the result of this synthesis of culture was the birth of
the Atharva Veda and other later literature glorifying the Ejifatriyas
PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
7
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
Wars are attributed to certain psychological causes.
Students of psychology and especially social psychology
know that society is regarded as a vast group mind
and that an individual is a part thereof, drawing his
thoughts and purposes from it and contributing new
thoughts and new purposes to it. Society is generally
studied from three points of view® : firstly, it is limited by
eternal and physical forces, as is seen from ‘the social
groupings and activities of primitive peoples; secondly,
society is bound down by the forces and laws of organic
life, as is seen in the tendencies of ancient peoples, not
quite primitive, to form larger groups instead of the
unorganized and isolated family groups; and, thirdly,
society is subject to the laws of the mind, a stage in
which ‘‘the conditions of mind shall be the chief deter-
minants of progress It is only with this last phase
that we are concerned here. The compelling factors
which guide and control the life and activity of society
are instinct and habit. The characteristic of all instinct
is feeling and we detect no thought-processes in it. But
in habit we detect thought-processes. Both instinct and
habit have their own value, not to speak of the dangers
peculiar to each. With the broadening of the factor of
intelligence, the value of instinct goes on diminishing
and the value of habit goes on increasing. But it is to
be observed that too much habit sometimes retards the
in particular. The theory is ingenious, but it is not convincing.
See also D. R. Bhandarkar’s Some Aspects of Ancient Indian CuLtwre
(Madras University, 1940), Lecture IV.
6 For a fuller treatment of the subject see E. J. Urwick: A
Philosophy of Social Progress (Methuen, London, 1912).
WAB IN ANGIBNT INDIA
1
«
faculty of tlmiking and consequently leads to mental
stagnation.
From this theoretical consideration we pass on
to examine how instinct and habit fixed the ship of
ancient Hindu society and its members, in the direction
of constant wars either within or without the group.
In other words, we shall examine the psychological
factors that led to ancient Hindu wars. These may
be stated.: (1) the mental atmosphere of the commu-
nity being a caste society, (2) psychological barrenness
of peace, (3) heroism and adventure, (4) human
pugilism and pugnacity, (5) defence complex, (6) angry
behaviour and spirit of jealousy and (7) the mastery
motive.
Delisle Burns tells us that the mental atmosphere
of a modem community is unfavourable to war. (This
is unfortunately not tme). Examining the mentality
of the ancient Ksatriya community, i.e., their mental
atmosphere, we can have no hesitation in saying that it
was favourable to war and heroic feats.
(1) A CASTE SOCIETY
The ancient Hindu society was a caste society.
By this we mean a system of social organisation, the
framework of which is without any parallel in the
social institutions of the world. The whole community
was divided into four distinct groups (mrnas) governed
by different customs and rules which are still in force
in India, Separate occupations were assigned to each
of these groups, to be followed hereditarily, though cases
of lapses were not infrequent. But occupation did not
form the basis of caste, though in theory it marked
one group from another. Nor was race the basis of
PSTGHOLOGIOAL BACKGROUND
9
caste, as Bisley would have if It was the natural
outcome of social conditions which have been shaping
themselves from primitive times. This is dear from the
relation in which caste stands to the ancient family
institution. It is the direct outcome of a system derived
from a more or les§ spontaneous partition, where neither
class-hierarchy nor theocracy played a significant role.
Senart rightly says : ‘ The system under which India has
lived is not purely an economic organisation of trades
nor a chaos of strange and hostile tribes and races, nor
again a simple class-hierarchy, but a mingling of all
these, united by the common inspiration which dominates
the functioning of all the groups, and by the community
of characteristic ideas and prejudices which govern their
order of precedence.’®
The Varna system of the ancient Hindus implied the
fourfold division of society into Brahmans, Ksatriyas,
Vaisyas, and Sudras. The Brahmans formed the group
of philosophers and teachers, the Ksatriyas the group of
rulers and warriors, the Vaisyas the group of agricul-
turists and traders, and the Sudras the group of men
engaged in different menial services. The idea gained
ground that to follow one’s own dharma and to sacrifice
one’s own life, if need be, in the prosecution of that
dharma, was the highest duty expected of every citizen,
to whatever caste he belonged. We may remember how
Kr^a laid emphasis on this point to the vacillating
Arjuna who was out to fight his own kith and kin. This
is the plain teaching of the Bhagavad Gltd, This
insistence on svadharma is a sound economic concept.
7 Ethnographical Glossary, p. xxxiv.
8 Caste in India, p. 215.
10
WAR IN ANCmNT INDIA
It lays the axe on the principles of individual freedom,
the struggle for existence, and the survival of the fittest.
The individual is made to realise his responsibility and
duty to himself, his family, country, state, and ultimately
to God;® In sWt, he is a member of a free corporate
State. He stands or falls with society and State. He is
part of it and not separate from it. It is a peculiar
concept by, which the individual did his duty and yet
enjoyed freedom. Every caste realised its dependence
on the other castes, and this tended to avoid caste wars.
Hereditary callings and the absence of competition
helped an orderly movement, unlike the perpetual rest-
lessness of modem society due to lack of equilibrium.
It is the strong bold bond, the corporate organisation,
and recognised jurisdiction that stood to guarantee its
perpetuity."
It is a fact that the ancient Hindu society was
divided into a number of water-tight compartments. It
had all the evils of rigidity with little or no chance for
elasticity. A man, by virtue of his being bom in a
certain community, continued to be a member of that
community all his life. It became a hereditary social
system where^ a Ksatriya could not become a Brahman,
or vice versa. This was considered as virtually tres-
passing the duties and rights of another community.
Any such trespass was punished by the State. So
ancient Hindu society, as it was constituted, became
necessarily a caste society, but with democratic social
9 Dikshitar: Hindu Administrative Institutions, pp. 40-41;
The Individxud in Hindu Polity — Aryan Path, Vol. X. No. 4 (April,
1939) : Society and State in Ancient India — Aryan Path, Vol. XI.
No. 2 (February, 1940).
10 Senart, op. dt, p. 60.
PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
11
standards and conventions. In that state of society, in
which a whole caste was set apart for the purpose of
war, it was inevitable that that caste should be actuated
by a warlike mentality, and that peace was despised.
The assumption of that caste was that war was good for
all time, and that, war brought m its train not only
glory to the individual knight but also glory and honour
to the king and country. This aspect of the psychological
impulse will be examined presently. But what deserves
to be noted here is that with a settled comyiunity
whose function was to defend the country by offensive
or defensive methods, the mental atmosphere quickened
the impulse to develop war-preparedness. This attitude
of the mind was not entirely the result of a spirit of
adventure but wholly the result of the realisation of the
fact that by war the warrior and the hero were doing
a piece of service which tended towards the common
good and which was consequently acceptable to the
common will. This was an important concept which
was realised in abundant measure by every member of
the Hindu warrior caste.
(2) PSYCHOLOGICAL BABEENNESS OF PEACE
It has already been explained that in a society
where a separate caste was set up with the sole object of
defending the kingdom from internal and external
troubles, the tendencies to war were normal. Being
bom warriors and barred by rules from taking to other
professions, the Ksatriyas were impatient of peace. In
fact it is the psychological barrenness of peace that led
to many wars in India’s ancient history. Our warriors
in that period resembled the gallant knights of mediaeval
Europe who took part in the Crusades to win back
12
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Jerusalem for Christ, both a cause and an effect of
diivahy. Peace to the K§atriyas was a kind of in-
activity, of slow movement and of retrogression instead
of progress. It was not in their nature to be inactive.
To them peace begot war. They believed honestly that
'peace was a negation of all noble .service and noble
energy. It depressed their hearts and minds. It
depressed their spirit of enthusiasm and initiative. On
the other hand, their sincere belief was that to make war
was a service that was noble and moral and promoted the
welfare of their community and country. Moved by such
ideas and ideals, in accordance with the spirit of the
age in which they lived, they took heroically to fighting.
But by this period war had become the duty of the State,
and without the sanction of the State authority these
warriors could not engage m wars of great magnitude.
However nothing prevented them individually from
showing their prowess by engaging in a number of
. adventurous campaigns. These campaigns had different
; motives behind them. Chief among them were the capture
of women, the lifting of cattle, the seizure of wealth or
, other loot. These remind us of the wonderful race of
heroes, the Normans, and the heroes of chivalry, the
Black Prince, Sir John Chandos and Sir Walter of
Manny as they still live in the pages of Froissart.^
(3) HEROISM AND ADVENTURE
■^ar is a life and h^jrojsm.“
War anil adyenture assure^y keep all who are engaged
11 See Straehey’s intm. to Le Morie DArihw (Macmillan,
1907), p. xli and The Chronicles of Froissart (Macmillan, 1913).
12 W. James: The Variety of Religious Experience (Longmans,
PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
13
m_ theiH iM treating themselves too tenderly. The
knights of ancient India were known as Suras and
sometimes Viras, both the terms connoting that they
were valorous. The Suras and Viras held a much
higher rank than the ordinary run of warriors. In the
Atharva Veda Saiy,hita, Indra is addressed as a Sura, ‘
and is said to possess heroism hundredfold. He pulled
down the strongholds of Dasyus and scattered their
army by slaying a hundred, a thousand, a ten thousand,
and a hundred thousand millions.^^ In fact £he burden
of the song m many a hymn of this Veda is heroism in
exploits.^* Still above these were Rathis^® and Maha-
rathis.^® The terms themselves are evidence of the
fact that such Knights were expert charioteers, who
earned such titles by their valorous deeds displayed in
previous engagements. Among those that won the
laurel of a Rathi were Yayati and Kartavirya Arjuna,
both famous raj arsis. The Maharathas were there in
numbers and all the five sons of King Ayu§a who
1908), p. 367; Cp. N. i^. Sidhanta — TTie Heroic Age of India
(London, 1929).
13 Bk. VIII, 8. 1-7. (H. 0. Series).
14 Ibid, Bk. XIX, 13. 5-11.
15 ^ m
16
14
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
escaped the fatsd axe of Parasunaiaa enjoyed the envi-
able status of Maharatha. Thus by high-flown exploits
did the ancient heroes win honourable titles, of whose
deeds the epics and the Purapas are fuU.^’ Some of
the champions again go by the name of Atiratha“
'and Apratiratha. In the later mediaeval works, like
Hariharacaturanga, towards the close of Book vii, it is
said that in a battle where a thousand suras were
slain the Kabandha engaged itself in a tandava or
devil dan(^. But the author of the Hariharacaturmga
would go further and state that in a war where one
sura killed a thousand suras like him, the Kabandha
danced in glee. This devil dance in a war is not a later
idea introduced into the military literature of the
-Hindus. That it was a very ancient concept is seen
from the description of the battle on the Ganges between
Senguttnvan and northern kings in the Silappadiharcm
where Sura Senguttuvan slew hundreds of suras of
Northern India; the Kabandha (Tamil — Kmavtdam)
felt overjoyed at this, and to the accompaniment of
music by the daughter of the Devil, danced what is called
the Peykkuxavai“
CATTLE-LIFTING
In times of peace, besides the time spent in hunt-
ing, the Ksatriyas took to a life of adventure to exercise
their martial ardour. ‘At a time such as that represented
17 See, for instance, the Br. Burma, III. 68.20 1 69. 21.
19 Canto xxvi, 11, 206-210. See the description also in
gatfupparani 503-586 edited hy Kannaiya Naidu (1941).
PSTCHOLOaiOAb BACKGROUND
16
by the first story of the Epic, the •warrior was always a
robber and a pillager. This life was Knight’s support,
land cattle-lifting provided needed gain.’*® All early
‘raids were chiefly for cattle. There are a large number
of hymns in the Atharva Veda praying for the protection ,
of cows and cattle.* In the thirteenth hymn of Book xix
there are references to cow stalls and kine-winning
chariots.*^ From this reference and from that in
Book vi, 67.3 we may conclude that cattle-lifting was
practised on an extensive scale in the Vedic Age. In
fact this was the primitive habit of savage tribes.’ We
see from the Silappadikdram that the Eiynar’s profes-
sion was lifting cattle, looting and highway robbery.
To these primitive men cattle constituted wealth, and a
cattle raid meant the loss of one’s property. In the
Pnrapporul Venhamdlai are given details which mark
out the different stages of a military enterprise of the
nature of cattle-lifting. The soldiers who undertook this
enterprise decked themselves with vetchi garland. The
owners of the herds who came out to rescue their cattle
wore the harandai, a kind of basil, as their badge.** That
this primitive form of cattle-lifting survived even when
people became civilised is seen in the MaMhhdrata^
where under instructions from Duryodhana the king of
the Trigarthas entered the city of ’Virata and drove
away the kine. Uttara and Brhannala (Arjuna in dis-
guise) recovered the cattle after a straight fight. In
20 E. W. Hopkins, J.A.O.8., XIII, p. 76.
21 5 and 7. See also Bk. II, 26; Bk. IV, 21; Bk. VI, 59.
22 See Vetcippadalam; also Dikshitar: Studies in Tamil Lite-
rature and History, Sec. vi.
23 Mhb. VirSt Parva, Chh. xxxii ff.
16 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA -
some cases, cattle-lifting was a prelude to military
campaigns. Another fact that may be remembered in
this connexion is the large number of gifts in the shape
of cattle given to the king by foreign alEes.
CAPTURING GIRLS
e
Another occasion for the display of heroism and the
spirit of adventure by the early Ksatriya knights was
afforded ,by the capture of maidens belonging to the
- neighl^ouring kings and countries. Shall we attribute
this tendency to the psychological instinct of sexual
passion? It is well-known that this primitive practice
of running away with girls was once universal and not
peculiar to ancient India alone. Indian conditions will
be dear if we are sufficiently acquainted with the modes
of marriage prevalent among the warrior caste. The most
advertised form of royal marriage was svaymnvara, which
gave the maid the right of choosing her own husband,
from among the princes assembled for the purpose.®*
Surely we can trace in this form of marriage survivals
of the earlier and much simpler form which consisted
of knights meeting girls openly or secretly and carrying
them away with or without the knowledge of their
relatives. In some cases the relatives of the girls
acquiesced either because they themselves liked the
match or felt too weak to offer a challenge to the captor.
The latter was more probable. But a majority of such
cases, as can be gathered from the fulness of descriptive
details in the Epics and the Pura^s^ involved an out-
break of hostilities.
24 For evidence in Buddhist Literature, see B. C. Law: A
History of PaU Literature, I, pp. 278-79; II, p. 459.
PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
17
It may not be out of place to cite an instance here.
Bhipia, the royal sage, once met three girls in the course
of his visit to Kasi and carried them away. He threw
out a challenge to the party that came to recover them.
He fought with all the contestai^ts and established his
right of possession.^®
Such instances, which could be multiplied, were the
outcome of the virile temper of the Ksatriya warriors
in general. It was accepted as a primitive^ form of
marriage by the law-givei's. The law of the country
named it the Gandharva form of marriage, and brought
it under the rdjasa system which constituted three out
of the eight forms of marriage in ancient India. Does
this mean rape and was it countenanced by ancient
society? We certainly cannot call this method of
adventure a rape, for there was the obligation on the
part of the adventurer to treat the seized maiden as his
wife for all legal and social purposes. He could not
and did not drive away or divorce her after the
satisfaction of his lust. In short, the captured maiden
became the wedded wife of the knight. Thus behind
the rdjasa form is to be traced a thin veil of the sdtvika
element.
Instances of forcible abduction are not wanting.
One signal instance is that of Havana, the Raksasa
king of Ceylon, carrying away by force and against
her will, Sita, the consort of Rama, prince of Ayodhya.
This resulted in the great Rama-Ravana yuddha in
Lanka, which ended in the death of Havana with
all his hosts, and in the triumph of Rama. We
know again of the adultery committed by Vali, king
25 Mhb. Adiparva, 102, 3ff.
I>-3
18 ' WAR IN ANCIENT INDU
of Kii^kindha, with the wife of his brother Sugriva, after
driving him away by force out of the kingdom. For
this lost his life, for he was killed by Rama
on an earnest appeal from Sugriva.^® These cases
involved a deadly combat where invariably the aggrieved
party came out crowned with victory, Be it remembered
tiiat these captors belonged to the primitive tribes,
who had emerged by the time of , the Bamayaim
into a semi-civilised state. We are led to infer that
I such , practices were un- Aryan. It may be noted, as
pointed out by Hopkins in the cases of Gandharva
marriages, that caste weds caste.” The adventures of
these gallant people were directed to the confines of the
K§atriya caste. The girls of other castes, higher or
lower, were not interfered with.^® But Hopkins is posi-
tively wrong when he states that ‘ even with high caste
girls the king is fond of connecting himself without
formality The burden of proof lies on him who
makes such a bold statement. The practice is to marry
* down ’ and not ‘ up ’. Whatever this may be, it is
important to note that the instinct of sex impelled by
passion and emotion led to the capture of girls and also
to rape®® which often led to wars in the ancient world,
sometimes of great magnitude.
26 It may be noted that Sugriva ’s marriage with Vali’s widow
is no rape.
27 The Nair samhandam in Malabar has been likened to GSn-
dharva marriage.
28 Hopkins, op. dt, p. 168.
29 Ibid.
30 Cp. The rape of the Sabine women. '
PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
19
(4) PUGNACITY
Added to this was the instinct of pugilism and
pugnacity. The K§atriya warriors were taught and
trained in such a way as to develop the spirit of
pugnacity. The Epic has it that the sword should hold
what the sword ha# won:
^ ^ ^ V. 74. 23.
^hat he does not win by strength is not his own.
Elsewhere the Epic rules thus The highest *dut^ and
pleasure for a warrior is to die fighting in war. Why
is this? It is because one’s death in a contest makes
him live in heaven.^^ Odd as it may seem, the ancient
Hindu, to whatever caste he might belong, developed
a peculiar mental attitude from his childhood that by
doing his ordained duty he got his freedom from the
bondage of samsara {i.e. cycle of births and deaths),
and enjoyed heavenly bliss as a guest of the gods.
Influenced by such moral ideals, no wonder the ancient
warriors of the land depended on their boldness®* and
strength.** To escape from the field of battle without
fighting firmly and also to ask for quarter*® were
regarded heinous offences against both God and State.
For is it not stated that to win victory or die in the
field of battle is the eternal law promulgated by the
Creator himself?** These sentiments which were largely
supported by the then moral code made the Kurus’ chief
31 Mhb., V, 160, 71.
32 Ibid., II, 22, 18.
33 Ibid., I, 202, 18.
34 Ibid., II, 69, 15.
35 J6id, IV, 38, 29; V, 3, 20ff.
36 IWrf., V, 51, 51; IX, 31, 34.
20
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
proclaim at the top of his voice : ‘ I elect glory even
at the cost of life
In the light of such regulations and principles
governing the ancient Indian warrior caste, need it be
said that the K§atriyas, who were often prompted by
* the instinct of pugnacity, entered Jilindly upon wars
which affected considerably all belligerents? Instead of
trying ‘ to discount and to control these outbursts of
*?pollective. pugnacity ’, ancient Hindu society encouraged
them under a system of civilised legality A war-
rior’s code was based on law and custom, which not
only countenanced but also sanctioned such a system as
moral and legal. It has been accepted that its operation
leads to the development of the higher social life. Speak-
ing of India and China, a well-known psychologist
remarks that ‘ the bulk of the people are deficient in
pugnacious instinct.’®® The remark shows that the
learned author has no correct vision of the Hindu social
structure. In a society which consisted of four castes,
three castes were devoted to peaceful professions, and
naturally the bulk of the people could not have been
pugnacious. But it needs repetition that with the
military group pugilism and pugnacity were rampant.
If Hindu society had not subjected itself for long ages
to a healthy diversity of functions and assimilation,
there would not have been that progressive integration
which has marked it for centuries. It would have
crumbled to pieces and we should have long ceased to
exist as a vital race. But it is this healthy social
37 Mhb., in, 300, 31.
38 W. Mcdougall: An Introduction to Social Psychology,
pp. 281-82 (15th Edn. — ^Methuen, London).
PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
21
organisation that has preserved the Hindu nation in spite
of frequent foreign invasions and ceaseless internal
turmoil. We are told that efforts are being made in the
West to replace pugnacity by the emulative impulse.
This is only an experiment; and how far this tendency^
of emulation would supplant the pugnacious element, it
is for the future historian to say.
MATSYA NYAYA
The next question is how the instinct of pugnacity
came to stay in the world and what was its contribution
towards making it an important factor in the evolution
of human nature? This question is answered by the
psychologist thus: ‘ The selection of the fit and the
extermination of the less fit (among both individuals
and societies) result from their conflicts with one
another .This is a very significant statement ; for it
is, in other words, the theory of mdtsya nydya. Literally
rendered, the term matsya nydya means the ‘ Buie of
the Fish ’. What is the rule of the fish except jdie
unwritten law’ of the bigger fish devouring the smaller
ones? Elsewhere I have applied this term to the
ardjaka state. We have an elaborate description of such
a state of anarchy, as we should call it, both in the
Mahabhdrata*^ and in the Bdmdyana.*^ The substance
of these accounts in the epics shows that in an anarchical
state the country is subject to plunder and devastation.
Life becomes unsafe. There is no security of person or
property. The strong rob the weak and the innocent
39 W, Mcdougall : An Introduction to Social Psychology, p. 295.
40 iSanti Parva, Chh. LXVI and LXVII.
41 Ayodhya, Ch. LXVII. ' ^
33
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
of their wealth. Rape or violation of women is com-
mon. Like fish in a pool of water or a herd of cows
with no cow-herd, people injure and kill one another.
There is no reverence for parents, teachers, or the aged.
Agriculture and industry suffer. There are no regular
marriages, and the intermixture of castes is free. Reli-
gious authorities are openly defied. No one sleeps
mthout fear.“
" This gtate of anarchy presupposes a state of nature
where /)ne notices a chronic warfare between strong and
weak individuals in a group and between strong and
weak groups. Often the weak are defeated and subju-
gated by the strong. This epic idea is stressed with
much emphasis in the Dharma^tras like that of Manu,^®
the Puranas like the Matsya,^*^ and in later works
like the Yuktikalpataru,*^ and Raghunatha’s Lauklka
Nya/ya Sangraha.*^ What does all this show except that
before the introduction of popular monarchy investing
the holder of that office with powers of dcmda, in the
light of the established law of the realm, the communities
were subject to no law and suddenly developed a comba-
tive instinct excited by crude sentiment? Hence the
necessity of putting down individual idiosyncrasies and
building up a society which would develop a spirit of
altruism and extend the virtues of family life to groups
and nations. The foundation of monarchy and a new -
social order based on functions brought to an end the
42^ Hindu Admimstrative Institutions, pp. 19-27.
43 Manu, VII, 20 and Eullttkabhatta’s gloss thereon.
44- Matsya PuofSna, Ch. 225, v. 9.
45 Yuktikcdpataru, 105.
46 LauWta-NySya-Sanffraha, Pandit Series, 1901, p. 122.
PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 5S
concept of matsya nya/ya. Occasionally its effects were
felt. It is said that in the ninth century A.I). the people
elected as king, Gopala, the father of the more famous
Dharmapala, of the Pala dynasty, in order to free them-
selves from the prevailing state of mdtsya nydya* This
shows that there ig considerable truth in the statement:*
No State, no Society. Unless a strong executive authority
places restraints on common impulses like jealousy, fear,
passion, these are brought into play in the^ everyday
life of the citizen. So in their social order the apcients
merged the individual into the group by making him
one of the group and in the group, so that he was
to subordinate his opinion to the group-opinion. By
means of group organisation and devolution of powers,
the State in ancient India solved many social, economic,
and even political problems that confront the modem
politician and statesman in the civilised world.^'^
(5) DEFENCE COMPLEX
We may now pass on to another psychological
source of war. To-day we believe honestly and sincerely
that defence and means of defence are quite essential
for every nation to maintain its code of honour and
to sustain the special national interests. Whatever
theorists may say on the ethics of defence, it has come
to stay as a force in politics, whether we will it or no.
We therefore cannot ignore it but have to reckon with
it as a necessary institution whether it is unmoral or
non-moral. To-day capitalism and imperialism, infringe-
• Jayaswal ; Imperial History of India, p. 42.
47 Dikshitar: ‘State and Society in Ancient India’ — Aryan
Path, Vol. XI. No. 2.
24 WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA '
ment of trade rights^ etc., have often been siiffi.cient
grounds for the outbreak of war. Again, the defence of
a small state against the aggression of a big neighbour-
ing power has been a cause of wars among the great
Powers in modem times.
The economic factor as a cause of war did not loom
large in the Indian horizon. In ancient India the State
was itself s producing and manufacturing concern. All
the key industries were undertaken by the State. There
was lijbtle or no private enterprise, and the jealous eye
of the State watched even this carefully. This system
prevented the formation of a capitalist class which has
become a potent force in modem politics. Nor were
there war-traders in ancient India.*® The duty of these
traders lies in the supply of arms and armaments to the
soldiers. Their business thrives only as long as war goes
on. So they leave no stone unturned to infuse into the
nation the war spirit. In ancient India there was, to
our knowledge, no private firm which manufactured
weapons of war. Their manufacture and supply were
a State monopoly. There was the arsenal which was a
department attached to the War Office. There may have
been in ancient India an economic motive on the part
of the State to build up a sound economic democracy, as
in the case of Dandaka, an ancestor of Rama, king of
Ayodhya, who realised the economic value of the forests
to his empire, which was in itself a plain country, and
who therefore led an expedition to South India as far as
Kiskindha and brought the whole forest territory of
the Dakhan imder his control. It is difficult to look for
48 G. H. Perns: The War Traders j( Chancery Lane Press,
1914).
PSYCHOLOaiCAL BACKGROUND
25
eeonomic eauses which could have led to wars in ancient
India. Society and State were so constituted that no
economic distress of an acute kind stared the ancient
Indian in the face. Though we can trace overseas trade
at the time of the Rg Veda, where a certain merchant
Bhujja is mentioned as shipwrecked in the course of his
commercial adventures, nowhere is there any evidence
to show that international trade relations led to the
outbreak of war.
DEFENCE AND AGGRESSION
The ancient Hindus were a sensitive people, and
their heroes were instructed that they were defending
the noble cause of God, Crown and Country. Viewed
in this light, war departments were ‘ defence ’ depart-
ments, and military expenditure was included in the
cost of defence. In this, as in many cases, ancient India
was ahead of modem ideas. All defence reduced to a
theory becomes aggression. For what is defence to one
nation is aggression to the other, and vice versa. The
impulse of menace and a spirit of jealousy were the
chief factors which actuated ancient Indian kingdoms
and empires, and hence we find every writer on Artha-
sastra and Nitisara insisting upon a heavy military
expenditure for defence.
FEAR IMPULSE
JEJvery empire, not to speak of every small inde-
Plindent state, was obsessed by the fear impulse, as the
psychologist calls it.** A sense of insecurity of life
was often lurking in the State mind, and this led to the
49 R. S. Woodworth: Psychology (1930), p. 256.
I>-4
26
WAE m ANCIENT INDIA
organisation of an elaborate madiinery of defence.
Many hymns in the Atharva Veda reflect this state of
mind, which are designated under the group dbhaya garM
of Kamika Sutra (16-8). A few of them may be
reproduced here.*
‘ What we fear, 0 Indra, maliie thou fearlessness
for us of it; O bounteous One, help that for us by thy
aids ; smite away haters, away scorners.
‘ Do, thou knowing, lead us towards broad space,
light .that is heavenly, fearlessness, well-being; may we
dwell under the formidable arms of thee the stout one,
0 Indra (those two) great refuges.
‘ May the atmosphere make for us fearlessness :
fearlessness both heaven and earth here: fearlessness
from behind, fearlessness from in front: from above,
from below, be there fearlessness for us,
‘ Fearlessness from friend, fearlessness from
enemy, fearlessness from one known, fearlessness from
one away, fearlessness for us by night, fearlessness by
day; be all places my friend ’ (Bk, xix, 15). See also
Ibid., 16.
‘ Let Agni with the Vasus protect me on the east; in
him I step, in him I take refuge: to that stronghold
1 go forward : let him defend me, let him guard me : to
him I commit myself: Hail! ’ (Bk. xix, 17.1. etc.).
Added to this may be cited another hymn of the
Atharva Veda (Bk. vi, 40) :
* Let fearlessness, 0 heaven and earth, be here for
us: Let Soma, Savitar, make us fearlessness: be the
wide atmosphere fearlessness for us: and by the oblation
of seven seers be there fearlessness for us.'
• W. D. Whitney’s tm.
PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
27
‘ For this village let the four directions — ^let Savitar
make for us sustenance, well-being, welfare; let Indra
make for us freedom from foes, fearlessness: let tiie
fury of kings fall on elsewhere.’
‘ Freedom from enemies for us below, freedom from
enemies for us abo^e : O Indra, make us freedom from
enemies for us behind, freedom from enemies in front.’
On account of this fear the ancient K§atriya prayed
to Indra and other Vedic deities for succjess over
enemies, and these are called battle-hymns.®® One, verse
runs as follows:
‘ Let their weapons fall down : let them not be able
to fit the arrow : then, of them fearing much let arrows
strike in the vitals ’.®^
Again, ‘ Let not the piercers find us, nor let the
penetrators find (us) : far from us make the volleys fly,
dispersing, O Indra ’.
Among the deities invoked for this purpose were
Arbudi and Nyarbudi as allies of Indra, as also Tri-
sandhi.®^ One form of prayer consisted of oblations like
the thousand-slaying homa.^
This fear was reciprocal. A subject nation, for
example, entertains fears of being swallowed by the
imperial power some day or other. On the other hand, the
imperial power would closely watch the movements of
this subject kingdom, lest it should slowly mobilise its
forces in secret and raise the standard of revolt having
always an eye to the proper time and place. For
50 Samgramikani— Bk. I, 19; Bk. II, 19; Bk. VI, 65; Bk. VII,
62 and 92; Bk. VIII, 8.
51 A. V. Bk. VIII. 8. 20.
52 Ibid., Bk. XI, 11, 4 and 23.
53 Ibid., Bk. VIII, 17 ; Cp. Bk. XI, 9 and 10.
S8 WAR IN ANCIBNT INDU
instance, Kalinga, a subject country under Gandragupta
and his son, rebelled when Asoka came to the throne.
Aioka had to invade this kingdom and reconquer
it at the expense of many lives including the innocents.
Thus the subject kingdom which was actuated by the
motive of getting rid of the yoke of imperial power, was
keen on its defence. Instances of this type may be
multiplied.
(6) ANGRY BEHAVIOUR
.c
If the fear impulse is of the defence-complex, angry
behaviour is of the aggression-complex.*^ Senguttuvan
wanted to lead an expedition to the North and show off
to the kings there his prowess. But no activity is
aroused by the motive alone. Given the right stimulus
and the motive, there comes automatically the response.*®
While the king was sitting in the audience hall filled with
resentment at the msult offered to him by northern kings
in their joint social meeting, there came the suggestion
to found a temple to the chaste Kannaki by carving the
deity on a stone taken either from the Podiyil or the
Himalayas. When it was agreed to consecrate the
temple in honour of Pattini Devi, Senguttuvan said
that he would get the slab of stone from the Himalayas
after duly bathing it in the Ganges and reducing to
subjection the northern kings if they should resist him.
Soon he made elaborate preparations for the expedition
and set out for the north. He extended his arms
successfully, defeated a confederacy of northern kings,
and after imprisoning the chief monarchs, 'R'anaka
54 See in this connexion hymns 42 and 43 of Bk. VI, A. V. to
ranove wrath and to assuage wrath.
55 Woodworth; op. c*#., ch. vi.
PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
29
and Vijaya, he made them bear on their heads the
slab of stone to his distant capital at Vanji in Tamil
India.®®
An examination of this war fought by Senguttuvan
on the banks of the Ganges shows that it was not a
defensive one, but yras due to the aggressive impulse on’
the part of the monarch, ‘^f you would avoid war,
stody human beings, study m particular the impulses of
aggression j and study them first where they are more
readily open to inspection in yourself.’®^ Wli^tever
views theorists may hold on the defence-complex,- it is
not possible to deny that aggression may be caused even
by a slight provocation. We cannot get over the fact
that impulses of aggression have led to several wars
in ancient India. For the effective discharge of such
aggressive impulses, sadistic and masochistic, war-
mongering provided, as it even now does, an admirable
channel, though the belligerents on either side knew
full well that in injuring others they injured themselves.
In several cases when we speak of defence as one
of the causes of war, we speak, possibly consciously, in
terms of aggression. If we turn to the pages of the
Puranas we find that the Haihaya king was responsible
for the death of Jamadagni, father of Parasurama.
The natural thing for Parasurama would have been to
avenge his father’s murder. Instead of stopping with
this, in a fit of exasperation he resolved to ruin root
and branch the Ksatriya race for twenty-one genera-
tions. It was a mad venture, we may say, based on
56 Dikshitar: SUappadikdram, Intrn. pp. 3-8.
57 Edward Glover: War, Sadism and Pacifism (Allen &
Unwin).
80
WAR IN ANCXBNT INDU
an aggressive spirit. Animated by such destructive
impulses, Parasurama went on persecuting one Ksatriya
prince after another. There would not have been a
K$atriya community after him, had not some princes
hidden themselves in caves and forests out of his sight
’and come out after the bloody coi^ueror had ceased
fighting.
THE SPIRIT OF JEALOUSY
In the examination of this jealousy motive we
find an unbridled indulgence of almost all evil passions.
The Atharva Veda (Bk. V, 8. 3) says: ‘Let not the
gods go to his call ; come ye only unto my call
Jealousy, if nothing else, was the real cause of the great
Mahabharata war fought at the historic Kuruk^etra,
the belligerents being the Pandavas and Kauravas who
were after all agnates. When king Pandu was unable
to wield the reins of administration, Dhrtar^tra was
elected to the throne. The five sons of Pandu and
the hundred sons of Dhrtarastra were trained by com-
mon teachers, and the Pandavas gained the knowledge
of science and the use of weapons much more quickly
and much more easily than the Kauravas. At this the
Kauravas became jealous of their cousins, and from that
time they, under the guidance of their eldest brother
Duryodhana, laid plans to get rid of the growing power
and influence of the Pandavas. Kpsna, the king of
Dvaraka and a skilled diplomat, saw the justice of
the P^dava cause and threw his whole weight on their
side. This further increased the jealousy of Duryodhana,
who sought secret 'means to do away with the five
brothers. Finding that all his plans had failed, Duryo-
dhana angered his cousin^ to such a pitch that nothing
PSTCHDLOGIGAL BACKGROUND
31
short of war, it was thought, would result. Huge forces
were brought into the field especially by Duryodhana,
and war was waged for eighteen days. We need not
enter into the details here. The result was that all the
Kauravas and their soldiers were ruthlessly killed, and,
the Pandavas won a decisive victory. The Bharatakanda
lay at the feet of Yudhisthira, the royal sage, and his
four brothers. The Pandavas became the virtual rulers
of all India and their alliance was sought by many a
prince including those of the Tamil kingdoms of the
South, with whom the Pandavas had relations of a social
and political nature. If we are to believe the second
stanza in the anthology of the Tamil classic Purananuru,
it is one Udiyan Ceral that fed the combatants of the
Mahabharata war.
(7) THE MASTERY MOTIVE
Jealousy brought in its train imperialistic notions
of overlordship (ddhipatya) and love of glory. This
mental attitude is reflected in several hymns of the
'Atharva Veda. One hymn says: *
‘ Unto our glorious Indra, rich in glory, would we,
rendering homage, with glories pay worship; do
thou bestow on us royalty quickened by Indra:
in thy bestowal here may we be glorious.’
‘ Glorious was Indra, glorious was Agni, glorious
was Soma bom: Glorious, of all existence am
I most glorious ’. (Bk. vi, 39).
‘ Glorious let the bounteous Indra make me :
Glorious both earth and heaven here:
Glorious let god Savitar make me.’
•W. D. Whitney’s tm.
83
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
- Ab Indra is possessed of glory in heaven and earth,
as the waters are possessed of glory in the herbs, so
among all the gods may we, among all, be glorious.’
* Glorious was Indra, glorious was Agni, glorious
was Soma bom: Glorious, of all existence am
I most glorious.’ (Bk. vi, 58 Ji.
‘ 0 ye Asvins, lords of beauty! Anoint me with the
honey of bees, that I may speak brilliant words
with the people.’
‘ Jn me (be) splendour, also glory, also the fatness
• that belongs to the offering; let Prajapati fix that
in me, as the heaven in the sky.’ (Ibid., 69).
The prospect of glory is itself an incentive to deeds
of heroism. To quote the Atha/rva Veda again, there is
a hymn addressed to Indra thus:
* O Indra, come to my call : this will I do ; that
hear thou: let these overrunners of Indra ’s bring
to pass my design: by them may we be equal to
heroism.’ (Bk. v, 8.2).
The terms empire and imperial sway, as I have
explained elsewhere,®* do not connote the meaning by
which we imderstand these terms to-day. The Roman
Empire meant the gradual extension of Roman citizen-
ship and Roman law and the spread of the Latin tongue.
The British Commonwealth means the establishment of
British methods of law and order, the use of the English
language for purposes of administration, and the deve-
lopment of British democratic institutions. Imperial
sway in ancient India meant the active rule of an
individual monarch who by his ability and prowess
brought to subjection the neighbouring chieftains and
68 The Mauryan Polity, pp. 71 ff.
PSTGHOLOaiCAL BACKGROUND
38
other rulers, and proclaimed himself the sole ruler of the
earth. This goes by the name of digvija^a. It is not
necessary that he should conquer all States by the sword.
A small State might feel the weight of a conquering king
and render obeisance of its own accord. Whether this
willing subordinat;ion is sincere or feigned, open or’
veiled, the fact is that it is there. The acknowledgment
of overlordship of a certain monarch or the willing
acquiescence of lesser powers to a greater power invests
the greater power with the halo of imperialism. ,
The position of subdued or vassal States was that
they retained their old methods of administration, their
laws and customs, their language and their religion.
The visible manifestation of their subordinate capacity
lay in periodical payment of tribute and presents,
assistance in war, and the absence of separate foreign
relations.®® Under weaklings the empire broke down
and under the powerful it was built up. Need it be said
that in any case defence was absolutely essential either
to the Imperial power or to the vassal State ? According
to the Sangam classics, each of the respective rulers of
the chief Tamil kingdoms, the Cera, Cola and Pandya,
carried his sword as far north as the Himalayas, and
implanted on its lofty heights his respective crest the
bow, the tiger, and the fish.
In these adventures which were undergone for their
glorification, the Tamil kings did not lag behind their
northern brethren. The very epithet Imayavaramhan
shows that the limits of the empire under that Emperor
extended to the Himalayas in the north. This title was
*
59 Cp. N. N. Law: Inter-state Relations in Anctewt India i
pp. 62-63 (Calcutta Oriental Series, 1920).
WAR IN ANCmNT INDIA
algo earned by Ceran Senguttuvan by his meritorious
eii^loits in the north. Names like the Cola Pass in the
Himalayan slopes, which in very early times connected
Nepal and Bhutan with ancient Tibet, give a certain clue
to the fact that once our Tamil kings went so far north
'as the Himalayas and left their indeljble marks in those
regions.®® If in the epic age a Rama and an Arjuna
could come to the extremity of our peninsula, and in the
historical period a Candragupta or a Samudragupta
Qould ^undertake an expedition to this part of our
country, nothing could prevent a king of prowess and
vast resources like the Cera king Senguttuvan from
carrying his arms to the north. The route lay through
the Dakhan plateau, the Kalinga, Malva, and the Ganges.
Perhaps it was the ancient Daksinapatha route known
to history from the epoch of the Bg Veda Samhitd.
These expeditions were prompted by what the psycho-
logists would call the mastery or self-assertive motive.
This is deariy illustrated by a hymn of the Atharva
Veda. (Bk. iv, 22. 1).
‘ Increase, O Indra, this Ksatriya for me : make
thou this man sole chief of the clans: unman all
his enemies: make them subject to him in the
contests for pre-eminence.'
‘ Of lion aspect, do thou devour all the clans: of
tiger aspect, do thou beat down the foes : sole chief,
having Indra as companion, having conquered,
, seize thou on the enjoyments of them that play the ,
foe ’. (Ihid., 7).
Again, the king who became conqueror of' all India
60 See M. Baghava lyragar’s article in KalamOgal. Yol. I.
pp. 56-63.
PSTCHOLOOICAL BACKGROUND
35
was entitled to the distinction of being called a Samr&t*
In the Pur^ic period the great Kartavirya Arjuna of
the Haihaya clan spread his arms throughout the ancient
Indian continent and earned the title of Samrat. The
same principle of glory and distinction underlay the^
performance of the, sacrifices, Asvamedha and Bajasuya,
which were intended only for the members of the
K§atriya community. Sometimes these yajnas were
made by a prince in the evening of his life, after he had
attained a ripe age when he could no more beaiv.arm»
effectively and was about to retire to a life of peace and
prayer, leaving the responsibilities of the kingdom
to his successor, invariably the eldest son. Daisarathi
Bama and the Pandava Yudhisthira engaged ha such
sacrifices after the historic battles in which they took
leading and glorious parts. Coming nearer home, we
find Senguttuvan performing a Vedic sacrifice after his
return from the north where he defeated all the northern
monarchs.
A prominent feature of the Asvamedha consisted of
letting a sacrificial horse roam about the country as it
pleased, and it was open to other chieftains either to
allow it to go its way, or keep the animal in their
territorial limits, which was a signal for claiming
superiority and hence preparedness to fight out. Often
the horse went unrestrained. But there were cases where
jealous kings resented and the resentment led to fighting.
Everyone knows the fate which overtook the sixty
thousand sons of Sagara in the course of their sear<^
for the sacrificial horse. We are told again that the
young sons of Rama — ^Lava and Kusa — ^had the sacrificial
animal of R^a bound, and this led to a great fight. In
these cases the army was not certainly maintained for
86
WAK IN ANCIENT INDIA
defences but to satisfy the vainglorious temperament of
certain monarchs.
Their vanity did not end here. It was often nur-
tured by avidity to attain Indratvam. These ancient
K§atriya monarchs believed very seriously — ^though this
'may seem irrational or superstitiou^that by perform-
ing a hundred Asvamedha sacrifices, they got the higher
status of Indra. The performer became the king of
the gods and lord of heaven.
^ this connection we may quote one or two hymns
of the Atharva Veda which fairly represent this idea or
ideal :
‘ Now do I adorn this man as superior to his fellow,
for attainment of Indra; do thou increase his
authority, his great fortune, as the rain the
grass ’.
‘ For him, 0 Agni and Soma, maintain ye domi-
nion, for him wealth: in the sphere of royalty
make ye him superior to his feUow
* Whoever, both related and imrelated, assails us,
every such one mayest thou make subject to me,
the sacrificer, the soma-presser.’ (Bk. vi, 54).
It was an age of crude mythology. To go to heaven
and become the lord of heaven was the ruling passion
of every monarch. If one Asvamedha yajna meant an
enormous amount of money, time, and energy, it may
well be imagined what a hundred Asvamedhas would
cost No wonder there were perpetual wars, now with
one king, now with another. Such religious beliefs and
traditions made wars inevitable. The Asvamedha was
certainly an instrument to provoke the feelinp of fellow-
monarchs, equal, superior, and inferior. The smaller
powers acquiesced generally, but the greater powers, to
PSYCHOLOOIOAL BACKGROUND 87
use a modem term, challenged and provoked war. A
study of these wars, from a psychological point of view,
shows that what is defence to one State is aggression to
the other, and vice versa. This sort of imperialism on
the part of the ancient Hindu monarchs to become
Sami’atB and their kingdoms to be developed into*
Samrajyas, was of the nature of federal units centring
round a dominating emperor". The attainment of Eka-
rajatvam or the sole kingship of all the then known earth,
was often attended by the sacrifice of Asvamedha,2-a
ceremony performed by an emperor already consecrated
to rulership. This bears testimony to ‘ the existence of
the territorial ideal of a one-State India ’ (Cakravarti-
k$etram of Kautalya). These kings were called Sarva-
bhaumas®® and Ekarats.
A hymn of the Atharva Veda is pertinent:
‘ Chief of Indra, chief of heaven, chief of earth is
this man, chief of all existence: do thou be sole
chief.’
‘ The ocean is the master of the streams: Agni is
controller of the earth ; the moon is master of the
asterisms: do thou be sole chief.
‘ Universal ruler art thou of Asuras, summit of
human beings: part-sharer of the gods art thou:
do thou be sole chief.’
Vedic kings aimed at it, and epic rulers realised
it. The idea of ekardt continued down to Buddhist
61 See Jayaswal: Hindu Polity. I. p. 137.
62 Sat Br. XIII, 7.1.
63 See Pardni, V, 1, 41-2.
68a TfT I
Vn ^ m I)
88 WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
times and even later. The Jatakas, which are said
to belong to the fifth or sixth century B.C., make
pointed reference to an all-India empire.** Two cen-
turies later Kautalya records the international relations
between an Ekaraja and the Sangha, and recommends
'the cementing of the alliance with subsidy and peace,
and in the case of refractory Sanghas, with war.®
This concept of an all-India empire stretching from
Cape Comorin to the Himalayas, according to Kautalya®
BfiCiSV^s further support from another important poli-
tical term: ekacchatra, or one-umbrella sovereignty.
To add to these notions of imperial rule we have the
theory of Kanika Bharadvaja, a political thinker who
figures in the Mahdhharata and whose view is apparently
rejected by Kautalya, namely the usurpation of degene-
rate dynasties. These pieces of evidence go to prove,
beyond doubt, that imperialism as understood and
realised in ancient India was one of the causes of
chronic warfare.
Thus a number of psychological factors prompted
the ancient Ksatriya to approach the problem of war,
and made war inevitable. As already pointed out, there
was one fundamental and vital difference between the
■iSRpn II
5^^ m ll Bk. VI. 86.
64 fiakala JambUdvipa eka r&jyam. 4.
65 Ar. Sss. Bk. XI, 1.
66 Ax. Sfis. Bk. IX, 1.
PSTCHOLOOICAL BACEOBOUND
89
STTstems of ancient Indian warfare and those of modem
times. In ancient India war affected only the War
Department of the State and the warrior class. It did
not eat into the vitals of the social structure, as it does
to-day. Society pursued the arts of peace, trade, and^
commerce unaffected by the wars that were fought now
and then. A kingdom conquered and a king vanquished
meant no disturbance to the age-long civil administration
of the kingdom. Often the defeated kings were re-
instated, and the old administration was suffered
so long as that king acknowledged the sovereignty of the
emperor by tribute and other means. This was the
nature of imperial conquest and imperial rule in ancient
India.
Though wars were frequent, they were not reck-
lessly entered into and ruthlessly fought. There was no
slaughter of innocents. Policy and method characterised
these wars. Immoral and unrighteous modes of war
were as far as possible avoided, and they were put into
operation only if exigency dictated such a course. We
shall examine these in the following pages.
CHAPTER n
THE LAWS OP WAE
SECTION I
THE WARRIOR’S CODE
^ar was inevitable in primitive communities as
there was neither a social organization nor a pronounced
political status. In the earlier stages of civilisatioh war
was regarded as a normal feature of life. But with
the growth of civilisation, war came to be looked upon
as a serious business, which should not be entered into
recklessly and ruthlessly but should be governed by
ethical and moral codes. Prom the earliest times the
warrior was a robber and a pillager, as we see in the
Eiynar tribe described in the jSilappadikaram. But
when society became organised and a warrior caste came
into being, it was felt that the members of this caste should
be governed by certain humane laws, the observance of
which, it was believed, would take them to heaven, while
their non-observance would lead them into hell. In
the Vedic age we have no evidence to indicate the exist-
ence of an accepted code of fighting. Political society
was just then emerging from the tribal community.
But in the post- Vedic epoch, and especially before the
epics were reduced to writing, lawless war had been sup-
planted, and a code had begun to govern the waging of
wars. The ancient law-givers, the reputed authors of
the DharmasHtras and the Dharmasdstras, codified the
D— 6
4S WAR IN ANCIKNT INDIA
then existing customs and usages for the betterment of
mankind. Thus the law books and the epics contain
special secftons on royal duties and the duties of common
warriors. The seers and the legists thought that the
high road to peace lay in the consummation of a social
■ order guided by a code of humane laws, moral and ethical
in character.
It would be interesting to study the rules which
restrained the warrior’s whims and ennobled his charac-
ter and conduct. In this study we have to distinguish
between general rules and special rules, sddhdrana
dharma and svadharma. With regard to general rules,
it is incumbent on the Brahman to perform six duties :
learning, instructing, sacrificing, causing sacrifices to
be performed, making gifts, and receiving gifts.^ Of
these, three were common to the Ksatriyas also: learn-
ing, sacrificing and making gifts. The Ksatriyas were
exempt from the other duties enjoined on the Brahmans,
viz., instructing, causing sacrifices to be performed, and
receiving gifts.* These three w^ere considered the special
duties of the Brahman community and intended to
benefit society at large. By imparting instruction and
by performing sacrifices, which services entitled him to
receive gifts, the Brahman ministered to the education
and religion of the people. The Ksatriya was not
expected to do these offices, which would considerably
hamper his special dharma and create a breach in the
established social order.
The functions common to both the communities —
learning, sacrificing, and bestowing gifts — ^were intended
1 Umu, X, 75.
2 7Wa.,77.
43
THB LAWS OF WAR
for their moral and spiritual elevation in society. Mann
lays down that in addition to these three functions, the
K§atriyas should attend to the defence of the country
(prajimdm raksmam), and be moderate in the enjoy-
ment of worldly pleasures like dancing, music, and
women.® It was re^alized that the Ksatriya’s excessive'
indulgence in ephemeral pleasures would be detrimental
to his very responsible work of defending the country
from external attacks and internal risings.^
The first and foremost among the general dulaas
was study, adhyayanam. The period of study for a
Ksatriya commenced at the age of six and continued up
to the end of his twenty-second year,® when the warrior
usually took to arms. This was so only in theory. In
practice sixteen was considered the normal age to get
the Ksatriya knighthood and to entitle him to enter the
field of battle.® When the sage Visvamitra wanted to
take the boy B^a to fight the Raksasas in the forests,
Dasaratha pleaded that he was not yet sixteen,’^ with the
implication that sixteen was normally the age at which
boyhood ordinarily terminated. In the Mahabhdrata
again we are told that Prince Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna,
became a full-fledged knight at the age of sixteen.®
He had been married and had already been in the
battle-field. These facts show the difference that existed
'-between theory and practice.
3 Ihid., I, 89.
4 See the commentary of Naccinfirkkiniyar on the Sutram 75
Purattiyal of the Tolkdppiyam.
5 Manu, II, 37-38.
6 MKb., Drona Parva, 193. 66 ; 194. 43.
7 RdmSyana, I. 23. 2; HI. 42. 23.
8 Mhh., Adi Parva, 68. 118.
44
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
What was the curriculum of studies planned for the
K§atriya, ,^d how far was the plan executed? If we
are to believe the tradition recorded in the Baghuvamsa,
the education of the prince commenced in his third year,
when he learnt from his teacher the alphabet (Upi) and
' numbers (samkhyana).^ The Arthasdstra of Kautalya
prescribes a programme of studies^ which includes
trayl or the three Yedas, dwviksiki or logic, vdrta or
economics, and dandaniti or the science of politics. It
may be inferred that the higher studies were commenced
at the age of eleven, if we are to believe the Mdnava-
dharmasdstra}^ It may be noted that experts in the
various subjects of study were appointed teachers. It
is of capital importance to note that adhyaksas or
heads of administrative departments and vaktras and
pra/yoktras, expounders and administrators of law, were
engaged to teach the warriors the secular sciences of
economics and politics. The idea was to make the
educational training as practical as it could be.
The other studies consisted of the various branches
of military science, usually called Dhanur Veda. This
particularly related to the use and handling of different
ams and armaments. While the forenoon was devoted
to learning the theory and practice of arms, the after-
noon was devoted to the hearing of Itihasa. . The
education of a Ksatriya was not considered complete
if he had not either himself studied the Itihasas or
heard them read to him. It was deemed that this
study of the Itihasas, or historical accounts of the
9 Raghuvamia, HI. 28.
10 Ar. ^Os. Bk. 1. 5.
11 Manu, II. 86.
THE LA.WS OP WAB
45
exploits and adventures of his great ancestors, was
quite essential to a young Ksatriya, so that he might
follow their example, their policy, and administration
in order to achieve success for himself. As the time of
studentship was limited and the programme of studies
was heavy and ambitious, a class of bards called Sutas *
were engaged to narrate to him such stories at a certain
fixed time daily. The evening and the early portion of the
night were devoted to learning new and difficult lessons.
The Ksatriyas were taught in the homes of their
teachers, generally away from the bustle of the town
and consequently unused to a life of luxury.^® Edu-
cation was so devised that it nurtured in them the
virtue of discipline (vidyavinita) So much import-
ance was attached to discipline and to obedience to
teachers. Whatever the teachers wished to have in the
form of gurudaksinu, the pupils were read} to give at
any cost and under any circumstance. The Artha-
idstra^^ insists on a period of apprenticeship for the
pupil which consists of learning the practical side of his
12 Of. Sivaji’s education by Dadaji Kondadev in Sir Jadunath
Sarkar’s Sivdji.
13 Compare this with what prevailed in ancient and mediaeval
times in the West. The castles of princes and nobles were the
schools where the knight received his education from about the
age of seven or eight. Instruction was provided as to how to guide a
war horse, how to use the bow and the arrow, and how to manage
a lance; all this by making him ride against a wooden figure. In
this period he was called a squire till he was twenty. He was next
‘ to win his spurs as it was called, and be admitted into the order
of knighthood. (Eileen Power and G. 0. Coulton).
14 Ar. Sds. Bk. I, 17-18; Of. Sukra. II, 41-50; Agni, P., 225, 1-3.
See also Dlkshitar, Hindu Administrative Institutions, pp. 107-109
16 Bk. 1, 18.
46
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
duties as a subordinate to an administrative superior*^
At the termination of the practical training the K§atriya
was' drafted to service and deemed worthy of occupying
an independent position.
Great care was taken to promote the welfare of the
' individual even from birth by means of a number of
sacraments, or samskdras. The naming of a child, to
whatever caste it belonged, was considered a day of
festivity and rejoicing. Only auspicious names, mostly
naroes of their chosen gods and goddesses, were given to
children. We are told in the Manimekalai how the
whole city was present on the occasion of the namiug
ceremony of Manimekalai, the daughter of MMhavi
by Kovalan. The cognomen of the name for a Ksatriya
was to be Varma, as that of the Brahman was Sarma.^*
The investiture was to be celebrated at the age of eleven
to entitle a Ksatriya to style himself a dvija or twice-
born.^’
Next came the outfit of the Ksatriyas. The sacred
thread was made of hen^. The Ksatiiya wore a girdle
made either of munja grass with iron pieces’® tied to it
or of a bow-string.’® The girdle of a Brahman was of
mmija grass, and to distinguish it from that of a
Ksatriya, pieces of iron were added to the munja grass.
This seems to have been an alternative to the girdle of
a bow-string, as the ancient Ksatriya was generally a
bowman. He held a staff reaching the forehead. The
warrior should not carry any kind of staff, though
16 Mmu, II, 32.
^ 17 Manu, II, 36 ; Gmtama, I. 13 ; Apastamha, I. 11.18,
18 Apastamha, 1, 1.^35.
19 V<uiftha,Xl.69.
THE LAWS OF WAR
47
f ^valayana would permit it.*® The staff was made of
■ banyan or acacia wood.*^ Every caste had its own kind
of staff. But the rule was that the higher the caste the
longer the staff. The height was determined by the social
position of the caste.
We may next turn our attention to the dress of
the Ksatriya. The dress marked out one community
from another. The under-wear of a Ksatriya invariably
consisted of a deer skin, and that of a Vaisya of a goat
skin. Except in war-time the Ksatriya spent his time
in hunting, and as a hunter he wore the deer skin. • The
same may be said of the Vaisya who was an agricul-
turist. Flax was the material used in the making of his
upper garment. The dress of the Ksatriya consisted of
an upper garment and an under garment. A cloak was
also worn, and when it was worn it was dyed with
madder.** He was enjoined by the law-givers to follow
special modes of dressing, building houses,*® wearing
jewels, and saluting. It is interesting to note that his
salutation was made by ‘ extei^ding the arm out at a
level with the chest ’.**
Marriage formed an important part of the social
life of the warrior. From a free state of marriage,
as is connoted by the legend in the Mahdhhdrata of
Svetaketu, introducing regulations for marriage, counter-
part of which in Tamil literature is the term makatt-
I pdrkdnji in the Tolkdppiyam, we pass on to a settled
20 Grhya Suira^ 1.20.1.
21 Omtama, I, 23; VasistJia, XI, 53, 56.
22 See Hopkins, op. cit., 105-06.
23 AL Or. But., II, 8.7 ; Agni Fv,rd/m, ch. 258.
24 Ap. I, 2.5-16.
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
4»
social organization. The existing practices and usages
were codified. Otherwise it is difficult to explain the
eight forms of marriage as being prevalent. These
are brahma, daiva, arsa, prajaptya, asura, gandharva,
rak§asa, and pamca.^® Of these the paisaca was con-
demned as the lowest form of mar:^iage. To a warrior
four forms of marriage are recommended — asura, gan-
dharva, raksasa, and paisaca.^® The Mahahharata allows
the K^triyas the first six forms of marriage — ^brahma,
dai’^a, arsa, prajapatya, asura, and gandharva.®^ Later
on, the epic prescribes the raksasa form also to the kings,
thus making a distinction between Ksatriya kings and
ordinary warriors. The epic is not in favour of the
paisaca and asura forms of marriage for any member
of any caste. Apparently these practices were becoming
obsolete at that time. The Ksatriya kings were per-
mitted to have the gandharva form of marriage primarily
: II Manu, III. 20-21.
26 I
ii im., 23,.
a? I
^ II
^ II
II Adi Panra »4.16-2a
THE) LAWS OF WAB
49
iaud the raJk^asa form only secondarily. On this plea
Dui?yanta persuaded Sakuntala to marry him. Con-
vinced that it was allowed by the scriptures, Sakuntala
agreed on condition that the son that should be bom
of her should become heir apparent. The gandharva
form was generally the vpluntary union of a Ksatriya’
with a woman of fiis own caste, with or without the
consent of their parents. But, according to a verse in
the Anmamna Parva, the gandharva form is defined
thus : ‘ The father of the girl conferred his daughter, on
a certain person whom she liked and who in his .turn
reciprocated her love, whether he liked it or not.’“
The asura form is to get a girl by paying a heavy
price to her kinsmen, while the forcible removal of a girl
by overpowering or slaying her kinsmen is said to be
the raksasa form.
One thing must be mentioned. The warriors’s code
prescribes that the Ksatriya could take two wives. But
in practice we find that the royal harem contained
a number of women. Even here we have to distinguish
between the ordinary Ksatriya and the king. Appa-
rently the sanction to take two wives was intended for
Ksatriyas in general. It may be noted in passing that
the king occupied a status superior to the ordinary
warrior and enjoyed certain privileges. Of the two
wives one was necessarily of his own caste. If he chose,
he could take a wife from the next caste, the Vaisya.
In that case, the Ksatriya wife was considered socially
28 f!WTrf5|^ I
^ 211 ^ II
^ ^ m'. II
D— 7
79.5
60
WAR IN ANCIENT INDU
superior to the other,® To whatever caste she belonged, ^
it was the injunction of the scriptures that ‘ the husband
should regard his wife as an acquisition due to his own
pristine karma or to what has been ordained by God.’
This injunction falsifies the statement often made now-
" a-days that in ancient India women always held an
inferior position in the social scale. ' The ancient Indian
easily realized that his wife was his partner in weal or
woe, and honoured her as the very queen of his home.
Dogs not Manu say: “ Where women are not honoured,
there cannot be a proper home
Marriages, then, among the warrior caste, as among
the other castes, were occasions of great rejoicing,
accompanied by festive processions, music and dancing.
Marriages in royal families were geherally occasions of
public rejoicing. At the svayamvara marriage, all the
chiefs of the land were invited and in the specially decor-
ated hall they were seated in order. As the bride passed
in front of the princes assembled, with a white garland of
flowers, her lady-in-waiting would state briefly to her the
name of each prince and his achievements. The prince
whom she garlanded became her husband-elect. The
marriage was at once celebrated in which all the rejected
suitors were invited to participate ; the princes did not
think it in any way improper to mingle in the general
festivities.®* Classical instances of a svayamvara are
furnished by the marriage of Nala and Damayanti, and
29 md., 11 and 12.
30 Dutt’s translation, ibid., 29.
31 ni. 55-60.
32 On svayamvara see N. K. Sidhanta: Heroic Age in India.
pp. 151-152 (Kegan Paul, London 1929).
THE LAWS OF WAB
51
that of Bama and Sita» A study of the epics and
the Pura^as shows that polygamy was the rule, and
polyandry an exception, if not altogether unknown. We
have only one instance of the polyandry system, and that
in the case of the five Pandava brothers having one
wife Draupadi, daughter of king Drupada. But what*
is held virtuous anS. praiseworthy is the ekapatnlvrata,
or the law of having only one consort. Dasarathi Bama
is a typical instance of the ehapatnwrataP His fidelity
to and love for Sita, the incarnation of chastity^ is
undoubted; but when he heard that public opinion was
not in favour of his taking back his devoted wife, he
sent her away to the forest and separated from her.
The next point for consideration is the question of
succession, and the operation of the law of primogeni-
ture. It is a general rule that kings were choson from
among the Ksatriya caste. In other words, a non-
Ksatriya was not qualified to be a king. And this is
probably due to the fact that the Ksatriya caste was
considered superior to others in virtue of its martial
prowess. For on this alone depended the maintenance
of law and order without which there would be neither
welfare for the people nor progress in the State, the
yogaksema and lokayatra of Indian political literature.
We are told of the incalculable evils resulting from the
rule of kings chosen from other than the warrior caste.
The Vayu Purdna^ sets forth the dark period when
slave kings ruled before Candragupta Maurya, and
history again records the equally dark period under the
Brahman regime, like the age of the Sungas, the Kan.vas,
33 Bdmdyma, III, 2. 19.
84 II. 37. 321 ff.
58
win IN ANCtBNT INDIA
and the Andhras. Ancient India again disapproved of
rule by a woman or a child or by men of no character
like gamblers.®® It is said that such a kingdom sinks
like a stone boat in a river. So insistence is made on
a righteous K§atriya being elected king.
Generally the eldest son succeeded to the throne.
His election or elevation depended on two things —
recommendation by the reigning king as a well-behaved
and loyal prince, and ratification by the people.
Yayati offered his throne to his youngest son, because
he alone fulfilled his wishes, while others did not pay
heed to them.®® If the Crown Prince was a minor, the
Dowager Queen or a respectable elderly relative governed
in his name. A similar rule was applicable during an
interregnum. For instance, in the Bam^ma the Puro-
hita Vasistha took up the reins of administration on
Dasaratha’s death until Bharata arrived from his uncle’s
kingdom.®^ An unworthy prince was often punished
and sometimes banished out of the kingdom. Asaihanja
is an instance in point. It may be that in certain cases
the king had no issue to continue his line, and in such
cases recourse was had to the practice of what is termed
niyoga.
The son was begotten on one’s wife by appointment.
The practice was for the reigning king to appoint
a person, preferably a sage, to have sexual inter-
course with his wife and bring forth a son to succeed
him. In such cases the sage imposed certain conditions,
and in practice the queen often discountenanced such
85 Mhh., Udyoga Parva, 38. 43.
86 Mhb., Adi Parva, 79. 18-43.
87 RSmSyam, Ayodhya, chh. 68-69.
tHS LAWS OF WAA
5S
a union. But still she yielded lest the line should be
completely extinguished. Legend says that Bali, the
Vairocana, had no children, and appointed the sage
IHrghatamas, by whom his queen gave birth to five
sons — ^Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Paun^ra and Simha.
The story goes that at first she refused and sent in her'
place her slave girf to whom was born Kak§ivan.®* In
the Mahdhhdrata again Dhrtarastra being blind was
debarred from sitting on the throne. So his brother
Pandu succeeded him and P^du became in course of
time sickly, and therefore recourse was had to niyoga
to beget sons on Pandu’s queen. Though the practice of
niyoga, had neither the willing approval of the law-
givers nor of the parties to it, all the same it was resorted
to. And Manu assigns a low status to a niyoga son,
nicknamed a ksetraja.®®
Details as regards the coronation, and the daily
duties of the king, his mode of life, the harem, etc.,
need not detain us here. But our survey would not be
complete if we do not say a word about the method
of the disposal of kings and soldiers slain in battle.
After the battle was over, and when news reached that
their kinsmen had fallen dead fighting heroically in the
field, the relatives including women went forth to ^
battlefield to bewail their loss. If it was a royal death,
the royal household went to the scene of action accom-
panied by the merchants, artisans, agriculttirists, and
the common folk to pay their last respects to the
departed hero. Songs of praise were sung recounting
his heroic exploits.*® Then followed the cremation.
38 Br. Purina, III. ch. 74.
39 IX. 65.
40 MKb., Striparva, chh. 9-10; chh. 16-24.
54
WAB IN ANCIENT INDIA
As hundreds of soldiers were dead on the field, it
was the custom to heap up the dead bodies on pyres,
according to rank, and to get them cremated " It
was then also a custom for the chaste wives of these
fallen heroes to mount the funeral pyres of the^r
husbands and get burned along with them.^^ Only such
wives were regarded as satis. But ihis was not always
the case. In the Bdmayana we see that widow%
survived their husbands and led wretched and miserabM
liv^^* and from this Lassen concludes that there was
no widow-burning in the Bdmayana.^ The legal code
allows both practices, thus respecting the customs and
usages of different peoples.
Though the warrior’s code enjoins that all the
Ksatriyas should die on the field of battle,*'’ still in
practice many died a peaceful death. After a long and
glorious rule the king often nominated his successor,
invariably his eldest son, and retired with his family
to the forest to lead a life of penance and prayer and
attain Nirvana, or Heavenly Bliss. It is a moot question
whether the Ksatriya could legally renounce the world
and take to the fourth asrama, the ascetic order or
sannyasa.*® There is a definite ordinance of the ancient
law books prohibiting the warrior caste from taking to
41 Ibid., 26.24-44.
42 Mhh., &nti, ch. 147.
43 The queens of Da^ratha and TSra the queen of Vail are
instances in point.
44 Ind. Alt. I. 592.
45 See in this connexion PurananUru, 15.
. 46 There is an interesting dialogue in the Mahdhh&rata between
Janaka and his indignant queen on this subject, when he renounced
the wbrld.
THB liA-WS OF WAB
55
asceticism. Only the Brahman may resort to asceticism,
because the K§atriya may neither beg nor receive a gift.
The very nature of a sannyasin is to beg; hence he is
called a bhiksu. Action and not renunciation is the
watch-word of the Ksatriya.^^ It was realised that if.
this were allowed, the Ksatriyas would become philoso-
phers rather than warriors and this would result in the
deterioration of man-power in the land. Therefore, a
warrior was not generally allowed to don the robes of
an ascetic. But Mahavira and Grautama protested against
these injunctions and inaugurated an order of monks or
sannyasins. When these dissenting sects gathered in
strength and numbers, the decline of Ksatriya valour
set in. Once they were initiated into a life of peace and
prayer, they preferred it to the horrors of war. This
was a disservice that dissenting sects did to the cause of
ancient India.
The Ksatriya could take to the third stage of life,
the vanaprasta asrama, which was the life of a hermit.
But still the rule was definite, that peaceful death at
home was a sin.^® It was a disgrace for a hero to die
in the field with wounds received on his back. The heroic
mother of the Tamil land was in the habit of running to
the field of action with a vow to cut off her breasts that
gave milk to him if her son had died of a wound in the
back. If, on the other hand, he had fallen dead with a
^ wound at the chest, the mother felt relieved, even
47 AhurSiSraminah sarve na bhaiksam bsatriyaScaret — (Mhb.,
Udyoga Parva 72.3).
48 MKb., Santi, 97.21-30. The following statement may be
specially noted :
56
WAR m ANCIBNT INDIA
though she should have lost her only son.** When kings
received wounds on their backs they sought a voluntary
death. We hear that the Cera king, Atan II, when
wounded thus by Karikal Cola, sought a voluntary
' death.®* The idea of death at the theatre of war was
such a ruling passion with the TamUs that if a warrior
met with a natural death it was the 'custom to make the
dying man lie on a bed of kusa grass and have him cut
with a sword, the purohita chanting special mantras.
Incshort, war was deemed to be a yajna -or sacrifice,
and this idea of the dramatist Bhasa is found in
Kautalya.®^
The warrior’s code enjoined that, once challenged, the
Ksatriya must respond.®* If he did not, he was not doing
his duty. It is said that having heard that he had been
challenged to fight, a Ksatriya laid down his croAvn and
braided up his hair, an outward sign of hasty prepara-
tion for the fight.®® He thus extricated himself from
disgrace and from the sin arising out of the non-
observance* of duty. For the king must always be in
a state of preparedness for war. It made no difference
49 &en Tamil, Vol, v. For it is un-Aryan to mourn for the
heroic dead. The rule forbids the lamentation for those slain in
battle except in a formal way. Mhb., XI. 2.19.20.
V 50 Puram, 65 and 66. It may be said most of these rules are
borrowed from or inspired by the Brahmanical tradition.
51 Bhasa ’s Pratijnayaugandharayana — ^ActlV; Ar.^ds. Bk. X,
3. See also Dikshitar — Bhasa and Kautalya in P. V. Kane Comme-
moration Volume (1941).
52 For a similar idea see Sjrachey’s Introduction to the Globe
edition of Malory’s Mart d’ Arthur, on Chivalry and the introduction
to the Globe edition of Froissart.
63 MKb., SabhS Parva, 24.8,
THE LAWS OP WAR
57
whether one expected to win or to be killed in the
battle. For it was the eternal law proclaimed by the
Creator.®*
Whether an elder, a kinsman, a preceptor, or a
Brahman, he must be attacked if he would attack him.”
This was the point raised by Arjuna and answered by
Krsna as the veritable law of warfare, though it
militated against the sMharana dharma inculcated by
the law codes. The idea was that once a Brahman or a
kinsman assumed the role of a warrior and a foe, there
was no sin in killing him.®®
Viewing the life of a warrior as a whole, it seems
that in the pre-Epic period he shared a part of the spoils
of war with the king and received no fixed wages. But
in the epic period a warrior in service received fixed
emoluments. In war he fought, and in peace he spent
I his days in amusement. He was not drafted to civil
( work,®^ In case a warrior died, the State provided for
^jhis family.®®
54 Mhb., Udyoga Parva, 72.4.
^ II
55 Cp. Av. Bk. 1,19.3 where Rudra is invoked to destroy the
enemy : ‘ Whether one of our own or whether a stranger, fellow or
outsider, who so assails us, — let Rudra with a volleys pierce those
my enemies.^
56 Mhh., Udyoga Parva, 178.51.
€|T I
^ 519? 9?r^ II
57 Ibid., Sabha Parva, 5.52-3,
58 Ibid., §anti, 86.24-5.
D^8
68
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
SECTION n
THE ETHICS OP WAR
“ To fight to the death for these great possessions
(defence of family's honour and of country’s welfare),
to feel that it is honour to die for them and dishonour
to retreat from them, to give up everything material for
them, to war for them to the last man, is just, true
and righteous war, and there is not a thought or a
passion connected with it which does not exalt and
ennoble, not only the persons and the nation which
wage it but the whole body also of humanity to whom
the great tradition of this defence is handed down,
and whom the memory of it inspires, teaches and
ennobles'”.®®
The Hindu science of warfare values both mti and
iaurya, i.e. ethical principles and valour. The term
nltisastra, which was the title given to books on ancient
Indian polity, shows that though the subjects treated
in them were secular, still they had their basis in reli-
gion. In fact religion governed the actual life of every
person from birth to death. It was therefore realised
that the waging of war without regard to moral standards
degraded the institutioif into mere animal ferocity.®®
Hence there came into being the ethical code and the
code of the lawgivers, the authors of the Dharmasutras
and the Dharmasastras. A monarch desirous of dharmor
vijaya should conform to the code of ethics enjoined
upon warriors.
59 See Stopford A. Brooke: A Discourse on War, (2%e Htbhert
Journal, 1915-16, p. 674).
60 Raghuvamia, 17. 47 and 68; See Mallinfitha’s Commentaiy.
THE LAWS OE WAR
60
Hindu military science recognizes two kinds of war-
fare— ^the dharmayuddha and the kutayuddha. There is
another classification into prakasayuddha and mantra-
yuddha. Dharmayuddha is war carried on the principles
of dharma, meaning here the Ksatradharma or the
law of Kings and Warriors. In other words, it was
a just and righteous war which had the approval of
society. It was also termed prakasayuddha, or open
battle. There was to be no secrecy about it. The preli-
minaries of the battle were settled by the belligerents
before the war actually began. There was no application
of stratagem or artifice in the operations of this war.
It was then a straight fight and a regulated fight.
On the other hand, the kutayuddha was unrighteous
war. It was a crafty fight carried on in secret. It
was sometimes effected by the use of mantras and
of charms and spells. Sometimes it went by the name
of mantra-yuddha, permissible only for purposes of
defence, and that too only as a last resort. More of this
later on.
Going back to the hoary past, to the period of the
Bg Veda SamJiitd, there is no reason to suppose that
the Samhita or post-Sahmita literature of the Veda
contemplated any clear distinction between dharma-
yuddha and kutayuddha. No doubt wars were fought,
and there is evidence of the use, sometimes, of fraud
! in such battles.®^ There was nothing like a definite
’.formulation of the rules of conduct. It was only
in the post-Vedic epoch that a code came into being,
thanks to the foresight of our ancient sages. Here and
there we meet with a stray regulation especially in the
61 Rg Veda, I, 117, 16; VII, 18.11.
60
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
literature which goes by the name of the Brahmanas.
For example, the Kausitaki Brahmana says : ‘ Kin
or no kin, crush the foes: conquer the attacking,
conquer^ by attacking Surely there was some un-
written code or convention followed by the members
of society, though the written code was still a thing of
the future.
But a critical study of the Vedic literature as a
whole leaves on one the impression that the Asuras
were advanced in the art of war, that they lived in well-
fortified castles, and that they sometimes resorted to
unscrupulous and unclean methods to overcome the
enemy. They were past masters in the use of spells and
charms, mantra and tantra. If we read the accounts of
the different devasura wars narrated in the Vedic works
and amplified in the later Puranic literature, we may sur-
mise, not without reason, that the origin of the kuta-
yuddha, later on accepted by the Hindu law-givers, as
one of the permitted kinds of warfare, lay in the ancient
and primitive institutions of the Asuras, which the Devas
began slowly to copy and follow. However this may be,
we meet with these two kinds of war in the early Dharma-
sutras and in the epics. Already a code had been drawn
up without much violatidh of the politics and conven-
tions current at that time. And punishment was
inflicted on the warrior who did not act up to the
regulations laid down. The code of course sjmchronized
with the formation of a separate military caste. Though
it was enjoined on the military leaders and warriors to
conform to the laws of war, still they were taught tho
different modes of fighting, including those of the
62 XX, 8.6. Keith’s trn.
THB LAWS OF WAR
61
katayuddha,®® and were expected to be well versed in
all of them. The idea was to pay one in his own coin.
If the enemy resorted to unrighteous and intriguing
methods of war, the attacked could also resort to similar
methods and strike the enemy down.
The principles regulating the two kinds of warfare'
are elaborately dcifecribed in the Dharmasutras and
Dharmasastras, the epics, and the Artha^tra treatises
of Kautalya, Kamandaka, and Sukra.
Let us now turn our attention to the laws governing
righteous warfare. When a conqueror felt that he. was
in a position to invade the foreigner’s country, he sent
an ambassador with the message: ‘ Fight or submit.’®^
More than 5000 years ago India recognized that the
person of the ambassador was inviolable. This was a
great service that ancient Hinduism rendered to the
cause of international law. It was the religious force
that invested the person of the herald or ambassador
with an inviolable sanctity in the ancient world ; we find
this principle operative at the dawn of Greek society.*®
Plato asserts that an injury done to the ambassador
amounted to sacrilege against Zeus and Hermes. The
same principle dominated the religious law of early
Rome. Herodotus narrates the divine punishment that
fell on Sparta in the fifth century B.C. for slaying the
63 This is called adhanna vijaya by the epic. The vijaya
earned by adhanna leads to hell. §5nti: 96. 1-2.
64 For details see the section on Ambassadors.
65 Plato, Laws, 941.
62
WAR IN ANCIffiNT INDIA
Persian herald.*® ‘ Thus it was that religion was able
to win recognition for one of the most enduring ideas
of international ethics.’®^ The Mahdbhdrata rules that
/me king who killed an envoy would sink into hell with
^ his ministers.®®
Notwithstanding the love of glory and the spirit of
heroism which actuated the warriof, recourse was had
to war only if the instruments of diplomacy failed to
effect the desired end. Generally the policies of sdma
knd ddna were used against inferior powers, and that of
Jkheda and danda towards superiors and equals.®® But
jthis was by no means a rigid rule.^® These different
expedients were severally and jointly employed so as to
bring about a compromise and avoid or at least postpone
the outbreak of war. Genuine attempts were made to
avoid armed contests and to keep peaceful relations. As
we have seen already, aggression was the exception and
defence was the rule. If diplomacy failed to bring
about compromise, and if war was provoked, surely there
was retaliation. Vigorous preparations were made to
vanquish the enemy by attacking the vulnerable points in
. his line. It was considered no sin to strike the enemy
Sat his weak points.^^ We have the unimpeachable autho-
'rity of the celebrated Buddhist writer of the early second
century A.D., Aryadeva, to this effect.' In the Catuh-
66 7. 134.
67 See L. R. Farnell: The Higher Aspects of Greek Religion
(London, 1926), pp. 100-101.
68 Ssnti, 85. 26.
69 Mami, 7.198; Ssnti, 94 (whole); Sukra,, IV. 1. 25-37; Ar.
Sss. VII. 16.
70 See chapter on Diplomacy and Diplomatic Ajgents.
71 Kdmanddka, 20.57.
THE LAWS OP WAH
63
iatika, reconstructed and edited by the late lamented
Haraprasad Sastri, the following stanza occurs:
teUft'JT: TW 1
=5^^ rRi: II
Ch. IV. 91. .
^ (See Memoirs of A,8.B., Vol. Ill, No. 8).
What does this indicate? Taking advantage of the
weak spots in the enemy’s army and directing attack on
them had the approval even of the Buddhist’s ethical
code. ’
War meant victory or defeat. The warrior Would
either come out victorious or be slain in the contest. No
one would prefer the latter. To earn a victory was the
ruling passion. It was believed that that could not
be effected by mere physical strength or assertion of
might. But if the human endeavour was backed by
divine power (dai/va hdlam), then it was thought that
success would attend on him. Hence throughout the
week preceding the march the king should spend his time,
in prayers to God. On the first day he should worship
^ari, Sambhu and Vinayaka; on the second the Loka-
jpalas; on the third the other deities; on the fourth the
jplanets ; on the fifth the Asvins, the presiding deities of
Ithe rivers, mountains, trees and other objects; and on
|the last two days Narasimha and also war animals and
weapons.'^
This compares favourably with the Tamil practice.
When Senguttuvan resolved to march against the
northern kings, the astrologer announced the auspicious
time, when the king caused the sword and the umbrella
72 Agm Pu^na, Ch. 236; Cf. Sivatattvaratndicara, 5.14; 8.24.
’Hiis continued to be in vogue to the end of the Vijayanagar period.
64
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
to be taken outside the city ramparts as prasthdna.
Then he went to the shrine of Siva and took the prasa-
;dam on his head after due prayers. That which came
‘ from the Visnu temple he wore on his shoulders. After
' .entertaining the whole army to a sumptuous dinner and
with words of encouragement to the soldiers, the king
commenced his march towards the Ganges^®
At the completion of the week preceding the out-
break of war, the king, the minister, and the Purohita
addressed words of encouragement to the warriors
drawn in several arrays. This practice is known also
to Bhasa who mentions it- in his PratijnikjaugmidJia-
ra/yana7* The war is here compared to a yajha or Vedic
sacrifice, and he who fights to the end enjoys the same
benefits as would accrue from the performance of a Vedic
yajna. In the TJdyoga Parva of the Mdhabhdrata, men-
tion is made of a sastra yajna or the sacrifice of arms
where Krsna officiated as Adhvaryu, Yudhisthira as
\Brahma, the blood of warriors and their powers as the
clarified butter, the pupils of Drona and Krpa as the
Sadasyas, the son of Dhrtarastra as the Yajamana, and
the avabhrta bath of the sacrifice was the lamentation
over the^ killing of Duryodhana by the mighty Bhlma-^
sena.'^® This affords strong proof ot the fact that the
concept of sacrifice was carried to excess. War itself
was personified as yajna. It was then deemed that both
war and Vedic sacrifice resulted in the same effect, viz.,
ihe attainment of heaven.'^® It was Virasvarga to the
73 SOa. Canto. XXVI.
74 See p. 56 above ; .m6. ^nti. 100, 3241; Cp. Banerji’s
PvhUc Administration in Ancient India; also Ar. Sds. X. 3.
75 Ch. 141. 29-51.
76 Sfinti, 98. 39 to the end.
THE LAWS OF WAB
66
warriors slain in war. Killing in war and being killed
in war were not acts of unrighteousness. Death other-
wise was not conunendable.'^^
The warrior’s code ruled that on the day before the
battle the king should sleep in his chariot with his
weapons by his side. Astrologers and soothsayers
observed the various omens and predicted the good or
bad results foretold by them.'^® The king was asked to
begin his march at an auspicious hour, after satisfying
himself with regard to the strength of the forces and
the attendant circumstances. If the omens brought with
them good signs, the kings were to give certain peace
offerings (sdnti), for, according to the belief of the time,
these propitious rites were likened to an armour shield-
ing the warrior from a volley of arrows.™
Varahamihira’s Yogaydtrd^ asks a king on the
eve of a march to war to recite the apratiratha hymn
that occurs in the Atharvaveda, for success in war.“
The hymn runs as follows:
(1) Indra’s two arms (are stout), virile (vrsan)
these two wondrous successful bulls; them will I first
yoke when the conjecture (yoga) arrives — ^they by which
was conquered the heaven (svar) that is the Asuras.
(2) Swift, sharp, terrible like a bull, greatly smit-
ing, disturber of men, roaring, unwinking, sole hero,
Indra conquered a hundred armies together.
(3) With the roaring, unwinking, conquering,
77 Ibid., 97. 25, 28 and 32.
78 Ar. Sas. X, 113.
79 Matsya PurSna, Ch. 288.
80 8.6.
81 Bk. XIX. 13.
D— 9
66
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
invincible, immovable, bold one — ^with indra thus con-
quer, thus over-power the fighters, O men, with the
arrow-armed bull (vrsan).
(4) He with the arrow-armed, he with the quiver-
hung (is) controller; he, Indra with his train, brings
together the fighters — (he) conquering those brought
together, soma-drinker, defiant with* his arms, of formid-
able bow, shooting with fitted (arrows).
(5) To be known by his strength, stout, foremost
hero, powerful, vigorous (vajin) overpowering, formid-
able, excelling heroes, excelling warriors, conquering
with power-mount, O Indra, the victorious kine-winning
chariot.
(6) Be ye excited after this formidable hero ; take
hold, O companions, after Indra, the troop-conqueror,
kine-conqueror, thunderbolt-armed, conquering in the
race, slaughtering with force.
(7) Plunging with power into the cow-stalls,
Indra, pitiless, formidable, of hundred-fold fury,
immovable, over-powering fighters, invincible — ^let him
favour our armies in the fights.
(8) O Brhaspati, fly about with thy chariot, demon
slaying, forcing away our enemies ; breaking up our foes,
slaughtering our enemies, be thou the helper of ourselves.
(9) Indra (be) their leader: let Brhaspati the
sacrificial gift, the sacrifice, soma, go in front; in the
midst of the smashing conquering armies of the gods let
the Maruts go.
« , (10) Of Indra the bull (vrsan) of King Yaruna, of
the Adityas, of the Maruts, the spirit (sardhas) (is)
formidable; the noise of the great minded, creation-
stirring, conquering gods hath arisen.
(11) Indra (is) ours when the banners meet (in
TBffi LAWS OF WAR
er
conflict) ; let ihfe arrows that are ours conquer ; let our
heroes be superior ; us, 0 Gods, aid ye, at the invocations.
After this it was the custom of the Purohita to arm
the king with a breastplate in the course of which he
recited the hymns f oimd in the Atharvaveda (Bk. XIX, ,
20) invoking protection to him by the various gods.
The following are some of the rules which were
observed on the battlefield. In this there is no difference
between the epic code and the law-code.*^
1. A warrior in armour must not fight with* a
Ksatriya who is not clad in a coat of mad.
^ I Santi, 95.7.
2. One should fight only one enemy, and cease
fighting when the opponent became disabled.
^ I Ibid.
3. If the enemy is clad in mail, his opponent
should put on armour.
Ch. IV.91. Santi, 96.3
m II Ibid., 8-9.
4. A cavalry soldier should not attack a chariot-
warrior. But a chariot warrior could attack a chariot-
warrior. Similarly a horse-warrior could resist another
horse- warrior. The general rule is that warriors should
fight only with their equals.
82 iSanti, 95. 7-13 — Dutt’s trn.
68
WAB IN ANCIENT INDIA
5«RI^ 51 RiM R tol ’R II /bid., 10.
6. Poisoned or barbed arrows should not be used.®®
51 ^ II „
Rsrt 55 *151%^ ^ I
51 ^ ii
5si>i^ r
f^?RrefT5R5^: RJIR ^ ||
5n*t «5!^ ^1^ ^ ^IRI^T RT 3R: II /bid., 11-13.
6. A weak or wounded man should not be killed,
nor one who has no son.
7. He whose weapon is broken, or whose bow-string
is cut, or who has lost his car should not be hit.
8. A warrior who requests to be rescued saying ‘ I
am thine ’ or joins his hand in supplication, or throws off
his weapon, must not be killed. But he can be captured
as a prisoner of war.®*
9. A king should fight only with a king and not
with warriors of inferior status.
W ^ ?I«IT Rtrf I
511^ <r5n5W«l^^(|5FR: ^^11 Santi. 96.7.
83 Op. Bavdhayana Dharma dOira, I. 10, 10.
51 R)f%: 51 Rl^ I
84 j^ti. 96.3.
THE LAWS OF WAR
69
10. If a Brahman enters the field to bring about
peace between the contesting parties, both shoifid stop
fighting. And no injury should be inflicted on such a
Brahman.
m ^ II
Ibid., 8.
11. He is a wretch who retreats stricken with fear
from the field of battle.®®
12. One should never lament over a hero killedrin
battle, for he becomes the lord of thousands of nymphs.®®
?<4WfuriP[ *Td II Ibid., 98.70-72.
13. Aged men, women, children, the retreating, or
one who holds a straw in his lips as a sign of uncondi-
tional surrender,®^ should not be killed.
Ibid., 74. Bmdha, 1.10.18.
14. The panic-stricken and scattered foe should not
be pursued hotly.®®
85 Ch. 97. 19-20.
86 Ibid., 98. 70-72.
87 Ibid.,U.
88 Ibid., 99. 13-14.
Ibid., 99.14.
70
WAJEt IN ANCISNt IKDU
15. No one should kill the sleepy or the thirsty, or
the fatigued, or one whose armour had slipped, a peaceful
citizen walking along the road, one engaged in eating or
drinking, the mad and the insane, one who went out of
.the camp to buy provisions, a camp-follower, menials and
the guards at the gates.®®
16. In case of an insufficient supply of munbers in
a particular division or divisions of the army, substi-
tutes may be used. An elephant may be opposed
by* five horses, or fifteen men and four horses; one horse-
man may be opposed by three footmen and three
horsemen by one elephant rider.®®
17. It is forbidden to kill a Brahman by caste or by
profession, or one who declares himself a Brahman, or
a cow, or an outcaste.®^
18. He should not be killed who gets up on an
eminence or a tree, who is an eunuch or a war-musi-
cian.®® The iSilappadikdram refers to warriors escaping
from the field of battle in disguise as ascetics, Brahmans,
musicians, and, last but not least, hermaphrodites. Most
of them were allowed to run away, though some were
captured and sent to far-off lands. When these captives
89 Ibid., 100. 27-9; Manu, VII. 92.
90 Agni Purdna, 242, 38.
Oaviama, X.
92 Manu, VII. 90-93; Gautama, X. 18-20; Tdj., I, 327-28;
JLpastam&a,n, 5.10; Sivataitvaratndkara, 5.14.16; ^ukra, 4-7-355-66;
Sdrangadhara 1935 f ; Bdrhaspatya. III. 51.
THE LAWS OP WAB
71
were presented before the Pandya and Cola monarchs
the latter spoke disparagingly of Senguttuvan as having
trangressed the limits of fair fighting (ch. xxvi).
19. It is further prohibited to fight those who do not
offer to fight, who hide themselves in fear or who go to
the field as spectators.®® The great war at Kuruksetra
affords ample proof that spectators were admitted into
the battle-field during the scene of action, and they were
not injured or otherwise harmed.
20. Another feature of the dhnrmayuddha was» to
leave the fruit and flower gardens, temples, and other
places of public worship unmolested.®* Clausewitz
characterises such a direction of war as the necessary
consequence of the spirit of progress.*® We have the
testimony of a foreign ambassador to this country in
the fourth century B.C. Megasthenes says : ‘ Whereas
among other nations it is usual in the contests of war
to ravage the soil and then reduce it to an uncultivated
waste, among the Indians, on the contrary, by whom
husbandmen are regarded as a class that is sacred and
inviolable, the tillers of the soil, even when battle is
raging in their neighbourhood, are undisturbed by any
sense of danger from the combatants and either side in
waging the conflict make carnage of each other but allow
those engaged in husbandry to remain unmolested.
93 Rdmdyana, Yuddha, 80.39;
km (I
sRg qr 5T ii
94 Agm Purdna 236. 22. See also the testimony of Megasthenes
95 Op. Cit. Vol. Ill, pp. 98-9.
72
WAR m ANCIENT INDIA
Besides they neither ravage an enemy’s land with fire
nor cut down its trees.’ Nor would an enemy coming
upon a husbandman at work on land do him harm, for
men of this class, being regarded as public benefactors,
are protected from all injury.®®
We must specially emphasize this social aspect of
war. In modem war the normal cJourse of individual
and commercial life is greatly disturbed. Trade is
hampered and prices rise enormously. In a word, non-
combatants are as much affected as combatants. This
stands in contrast with the theory and practice of
war in ancient India. The normal life of the people was
never disturbed and arts and crafts continued to flourish
irrespective of war or peace.
21. Prisoners of war were generally to be accorded
generous treatment. In the epoch of the Brahmanas the
fettered prisoner was sent out of the kingdom and was
permitted to remain on the outskirts. Sometimes the
captive agreed to become a slave of the captor for a
period of one year after which he became a free man.®’'
If maidens were among the prisoners of war, they were
courteously treated and were induced to marry persons
of. the conqueror’s choice. If they declined the offer,
they were sent back to their homes imder proper escort.®®
Hospitality, the sacredness of the refugee, the law not to
96 Ar. iSas., XIII. 4; McCrindle, Frg. I.
97 Sat. Br., I. 24- 16-17 CSBE, XXII) ; Santi, 96.4-5.
11 ■
98 Sfinti. 96. 5. We are told in the later Vijayanagar period
that Ky?nadeva returned the wife of the defeated Gajapati ruler.
(Sewell, A Forgotten Empire, p. 320).
THE LAWS OP WAR
78
forget a kindness or a hurt, and not to refuse to fight
when challenged, are some features of fair fighting
according to the epic code.®® According to the Mudror
rdksasa, Kautalya-Ganakya set free prisoners captured
in war by Candragupta. Kapaka and Vi jay a, the >
northern kings who were taken captives in the Ganges ’
expedition, were liberated by Senguttuvan after some
time and sent back to their capitals.^®®
Usually the defeated king was reinstated on the
throne. But if the enemy king had met with his death
in battle, his son or nearest relative was installed on the
throne on terms of subordinate alliance.’^®^ The subjects
of the vanquished monarch were allowed to retain their
own laws and customs, for it was well realised that any
violation of these would result in a mass rebellion which
it would be impossible to quell. The chief leaders of
the people were, it is said, to be conciliated with soothing
words and alluring presents.^®® It was the policy of
the ancient Hindus that once in the field of action,
the enemy could be subjected to rigor. But after the
cessation of hostilities, the victor should behave in such
a way as to secure the advancement of all, including the
subjects of the enemy’s kingdom.^®^
Some of these rules are borne out by the inscrip-
tions. Different cases of dealing with the conquered
kings are mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription
99 See Indian Historical Quarterly, Vol. I, p. 270.
100 §ila., Canto XXX.
101 Ar. ^ds., VII, ch. 16 ; Manu, VII, 202 ff.
102 Ibid., XIII. eh. 5.
103 &lnti., 96.12-13.
104 Ibid., 97. 4-‘5.
D— 10
74
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
of Samudragupta. It is said that the Daksinapatha
rulers who were captured in his wars, were set free
and the Atavika kings were admitted to the service
of the conqueror. The samanta chieftains, on the other
hand, expressed their willingness to accept the emperor’s
'overlordship by agreeing to pay him tribute.^®® It is
thus seen that as far as possible the internal system
of admihistration and the various social institutions
of the subjugated lands were left undisturbed. The
conqueror, in most cases, was satisfied with the acknow-
ledgment of his overlordship and did not trouble himself
so long as his sovereignty was not challenged.^®®
22. Next the treatment of the wounded may engage
our attention. A wounded opponent should either be
sent to his own home, or if taken to the victor’s
quarters, he should have his wounds attended to by
skilled surgeons. After he got well cured, he should
be set at liberty.^®^ Women were appointed to nurse
the wounded. In the camp were found physicians
with surgical instruments, machines, remedial oils, and
bandage-cloth in their hands. Evidently they dressed the
woimds and applied healing remedies. After beating the
enemy in battle and finding them suffering from the
agony of wounds, the victor should show mercy to them
and sympathise with them by comforting them, taking
hold of their hands affectionately. It is said that he
105 6v,pta Inscriptions, No. I, PL 1, 1. 19.
106 Yimu, III, 30-31 ; Jayaswal : A History of India A.D. 150—
A.D. 350 (re. the nature of Samudragupta ’s conquests).
107 ^anti., 95.17-18.
THJ3 LAWS OS' WAR
75
should even shed tears before them so as to secure their
devotion/”* This was true of the soldiers of his own
army as well as of the enemy/*®
'That the ancient Tamil kings were imbued with such
lofty ideals and were solicitous for the wounded and the
disabled is sufficiently manifest. The great Sangam poet,’
Nakkirar, describes' how king Nedunjelian II behaved
towards the wounded soldiers in his camp. At mid-night,
despite the inclement weather and drenching rain, the
king left his camp followed by a few attendants holding
lighted torches and visited these suffering men and made
kind and sympathetic enquiries of each soldier. Usually
a general went in advance pointing out to the king the
heroic men wounded in the previous day’s battle.^^”
Incidentally, it may be noticed from the above
description that it was a custom to make war during
the day and cease fighting during night. This was also
the practice in the Mahdhhdrata war and a practice of
all righteous wars. According to Clausewitz,^^ when
the army retired for rest all feelings of asperity and
animosity were to be suspended and both the contending
parties were to behave like allies.
SBCTION m
CELEBRATING VICTORY
After the announcement of victory, the conqueror
probably recited the following hymn of the Atharva
108 6anti., 102, 34-39.
109 Ibid., 95, 17, 18.
110 Pattuppattu, Nedunalvadai, 11.169-188. See also Dikshitar;
Studies in Tamil Literatv/re and History, p. 254; JJ.H., Vol. XIII,
Pt. 2 — J. M. Somasundaram has translated this into English.
111 Vol. I, p. 231.
76
WAll IN ANCIENT INDIA
Veda which Griffith calls a ‘ hymn after victory —
‘ Here I have come up to a better stop : heaven-
and-earth have been propitious to me: let the
directions be for me free from rivals: we verily
hate thee not; be there fearlessness for us.’^^
Then he celebrated it by worshipping the gods,
honouring the Brahmans, and granting a general
amnesty.”® The belief then was that God helped those
who helped themselves. So worship of the gods was
the first thing. This worship was done in different ways.
The .orthodox method seems to have been to celebrate a
sacrifice as we saw in the cases of Yudhisthira and
Senguttuvan. There was the classical instance of King
Nabhaga giving away whole kingdoms as sacrificial
presents to the Brahmans.^” Another mode of honouring
the Brahman was to make a present of the cows captured
from the enemy so that they might enjoy their milk.
An interestmg question may be raised here. What
was the service of the Brahman in a war so as to make
him the recipient of such gifts? Let the ancient texts
answer. A certain Gandharva in addressing Arjuna in
the Mahabhdrata on the importance of the Purohita to
the king says that sheer prowess and pride of nobility
cannot give one success. It is the guiding hand of the
Brahmans that will keep a king ever victorious.”® In
112 Bk. XIX, 14.
113 Manu, VII. 201; Ar. ^ds., XIII. 5.
114 ^ I
II ^anti., 96.22.
115 Mhb., Adi Parva, 186. 77-84. and especially the line
mmm ^ ^ 7155(^1^ II
THE LAWS OF WAR
77
another place we are informed that mere strength of
weapons and arms (astrabahuhalam) does not secure
victory, but the power of tapas and mantras would alone
lead to it (tapomantm This is exactly what
the Kautaliya rules namely sastrabalam combined with
^strabalam leads to the success of the State.“’ As the’
sastrabalam, and taJpomantrcbbalam were the possession
of the Brahman, ajid as he was prohibited from earning
his livelihood by taking to other professions, there is
the justification for bestowing lavish gifts on ttie
Brahmans who ministered to the religious and spiritual
needs of the whole community. This dependence of eadi
community on the other explains why there were few
or no civil wars in ancient India.
After the religious celebration the conqueror pro-
ceeded to distribute the booty seized in war. It included
chariots, horses, elephants, umbrellas, grain, cattle, drav-
yas including the kupyas or baser metals, and women.
Such wealth consisted only of movables. The epic
code has it that the immovable property did not of
right belong to the conqueror.^^® It is said that after
defeating the enemy in battle. King Pratardana took
all his wealth, including grains and medicinal herbs,
116 I
II
sirsW ^ sW ^ I
mm ^ toft? ^ ^ II
117 Ar. Sds., Bk. I. 9.
118 m I
iSftnti, 96,20.
78 WA^ IN ANCIBNT INDIA
but left his land untouched. In the next verse it is
told that King Divodaaa tpok away even the sacrificial
materials including the clarified butter and food of his
subjugated foes. But this was not approved as it went
against the prevailing religious feeling. According to
Sukracarya^^® the wealth seized in war should be
presented to the king for examinatibn and distribution.
This wealth was clearly movable property. According
to lawgivers like Visnu and Manu, animals captured and
a part of the treasure seized, generally went to the
king/“^ It is interesting to note the ruling of Brhaspati
that one-sixth of the booty went to the king and the rest
fto his allies and soldiers.^“ The dependants of those
•killed in war were given an allowance for subsistence.
This was probably met from the State treasury.
SECTION IV
MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS
There are a number of miscellaneous rules given
in the epic under the category of just fighting. Let us
refer to one or two of these. That warrior was regarded
as Visnu in prowess and Brhaspati in intelligence who
killed the commander of the enemy’s force and rode upon
the chariot of his fallen antagonist.^^® The epic speaks
119 Ibid., 21.
120 IV, 7, 386.
121 Vimu, III. 30; Manu, VII. 202; Oautanu^, X, 20-23.
122 Sik, XXXIII, p. 341.
123 ^nti, 98. 68.
THE LAWS OF WAll
79
highly again of him who could capture alive the com-
mander of the opponent’s army, or his son, or some
high-placed general.^^^ Victory or defeat practically
rested with these commanders and generals, who were
the leaders in war. This is why so much importance is
attached to capturing alive or slaying a general of the'
army. The Chinese traveller, Hiuen Tsang, records a
tradition : ‘ Whenever a general is despatched on a war-
like expedition, although he is defeated and his army
destroyed, he is not himself subjected to bodily punish-
ment, only he has to exchange his soldier’s dress for
that of a woman, much to his shame and chagrin. So
mostly those men put themselves to death to avoid such
disgrace. ’
Another was to cut off supplies from the enemy,
especially if they were contraband. Harbour officials
had, according to the ArtJiasdstra, the right of seizing
or destroying seaborne goods in ships bound for the
enemy’s country. This holds good for piratical vessels,
though the property thus seized was restored to the
owner. In this, as in so many of his injunctions, the
practical statesman Kautalya anticipates modem times.
If a digression is permissible, we may say that in
the Buddhist and Jaina literature we notice the same
war ethics. Buddhist literature contains no treatises on
nlti or polity except the stray references we meet in
books devoted to other topics. But there are two Jain
works very important for purposes of our present study.
124 ^ ^ ^ 'ipRr: I
sftspHf ^ W W II Ibid., 69.
v' 125 Beal: Life of Hiuen Tsang, IV, p. 147.
126 Mookerjee’a Indian Shipping, pp. 113-14 ; Ar, Bk. II, 28.
80
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
One is the NUivakydmrta of Somadeva, and the other
is LaghvarhmnUisdra of Hemacandra. While the
former follows Kautelya almost verbatim, the latter is
an abridged version in Sanskrit of a large Prakrt work
the Brhadarhannitisdstra, now lost to us. Confining
ourselves to an examination of these treatises from the
point of view of the ethics of war, wdfind the whole thing
is a copy of the Brahmanical codes which we have
been examining. An almost futile attempt has been
made to find out differences between the NUivakydmrta
and the Arthaidstra}^ In conformity with the Brah-
manieal treatises Hemacandra prescribes that the king
shall not go to war before employing all the three
diplomatic means, sama, dana and bheda,^^® for, it is
said, battle involves loss of many lives. But once a
war is started, it must be conducted on righteous lines,
so that there may be little loss of man-power. Cruel,
poisoned, or treacherous weapons should not be used.
Hemacandra prescribes further that the following should
be immune from slaughter in war: ascetics. Brahmans,
those who do not wear weapons of war, the afflicted,
eunuchs, the naked, those who are asleep, those suffering
from illness, refugees, those holding blades of grass in
their mouths, guests, and persons engaged in sacrifices.^*®
Such slaughter was equal to murder and did not, there-
fore, belong to righteous warfare.^®®
127 See Dr. Wintemitz’s article on Jainas in Indian Literature,
pp. 161 ff. in the Indian Culture, Vol. I, Oct. 1934.
128 II. 1. 19-20.
129 II. 1. 27; 59. 61ff.
130 See Hopkins; Ethics of India (1924), pp. 101 if.
THE LAWS OP WAK
81
SECTION V
DHARMA VIJAYA, ASURA VIJAYA AND LOBHA VIJAYA
There was another division of war — ^Dharmavijaya,
Asura Vijaya and Lobha Vijaya, as contemplated by
Kautalya and Asoka, and occasionally mentioned in the'
epics and the Puranas. While the division of the
Dharmayuddha and the Kutayuddha was in the epic
tradition, this kind of division seems to have been an
innovation of Kautalya, and an improvement on the old
systems and methods. Dharma vijaya is an equivalent
of Dharmayuddha, while Lobhavijaya and Asuravijaya
come under the category of Kutayuddha, whose methods
we shall presently examine. Before the discovery of
the Arthasastra, and even several years after its dis-
covery, the term dharmavijaya occurring in the inscrip-
tions of Asoka was a puzzle to Asokan scholars,
who unfortunately took for granted that the Emperor
was a Buddhist, connected the term with the Buddhist
Dharma, and interpreted it just contrary to what it
connotes. We are told on no authority that the term
which occurs in the XIII Rock Edict means ‘ conquest
by morality \ It is contended that Asoka substituted
‘ conquest by morality ’ for ‘ conquest by arms ’. This
is discussed at length in my The Mauryan Polity}^
Suffice it to say here that if we accept that Asoka became
a monk and gave up arms, then according to the Hindu
and even the Buddhist conception he relinquished the
throne and could not have been an emperor. And with
complete disarmament, with States of people professing
131 See also my paper Dharmavijaya in K. B. Pathak Comme-
moration Volume^, pp. 280-286 (1934).
I>— 11
82 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
different faiths and creeds, the vast empire could not
be maintained even for a short period.
In interpreting this term, the whole Edict must be
taken into account. In the latter part we read accord-
,ing to Hultzsch’s translation: “ And they (foresters)
are told of the power to (punish them) which Devanam-
priya (possesses) in spite of (his) repentance, in order
that they may be ashamed (of their crimes) and may
not be killed What is this power to punish and kill
them except by the employment of weapons of war?
What is that repentance except that he waged in Kalinga
an unrighteous war involving the slaughter of innocents
and that he took a vow from that day to resort to only
righteous methods of war? Dharmavijaya is a term of
much political significance and Asoka born and bred in
the Kautaliyan school of politics, (there is a story that
Kautalya continued to be the minister of Asoka’s
father also), must have followed his political injunctions.
It is wrong to take all his Edicts as religious Edicts.
They are all political in character and deserve to be
re-edited and interpreted from the political standpoint
of Kautalya to do justice to a very great emperor of
India, who had equal regard for all orthodox and heretic
sects of his time.^*®
Though scholars bestowed no independent thought
on the term dharmavijaya in Asoka’s inscriptions,
and followed the translation ‘ conquest by morality ’,
Mr. F. J. Monahan doubted whether the interpretation
was correct and remarked that dutas did not go to
different countries to preach Buddhism but to carry the
132 Corpus, p. 69.
133 pp. 254 ff.
THE LAWS OP WAE
83
message of Bharma. What this meant he could not
explain, though the explanation lies buried in the
ArthaMstra}^ According to Kautalya, Dharmavijaya
meant that a conquering king was satisfied with the
acknowledgement of his overlordship by the inferior
and defeated powers as also by others. The motive
was to avoid war as far as possible, and to promote
peaceful and diplomatic relations with neighbours and
foreigners.^®® This was the mission on which Asoka
sent, not missionaries, but political envoys. In the
Lobhavijaya the aim of the conqueror was to covet the
territory and the treasure of the enemy. In the Aiura-
f vijaya, the enemy is captured and deprived of his
; kingdom, treasure, sons, and wives. Or he was slain and
his country was reduced to ashes.^®® Dharmavijaya
means a righteous method of warfare where diplomacy
and conciliation were pressed into service to avoid actual
fighting as far as possible. It was an attempt to main-
tain pacific relations. The dominating personality of
the conqueror evoked regard from alien states amount-
ing to an acknowledgment of his superiority or equality.
It is a war of defence, though defence presupposes
aggression.
We shall conclude our remarks on Dharmayuddha
with the following quotation from Griffith :^®^
® Let the soldier good in battle, never guilefully
conceal
134 Early History of Bengal, p. 219.
135 In his Rajadharma (Adyar, 1941) Prof. K. V. Rangaswami
Aiyangar has accepted this interpretation, pp. 140-43.
136 Bk. II, 1 ; Mauryan Polity, pp. 128-29.
137 Specimens of Indian Poetry, p. 9. Cp. ^nti, 100-27-29,
Apast. II. 5. 10.11.
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
u
(Wherewithal to smite the unwary) in his staff the
treacherous steel:
Let him scorn to bark his javelin: let the valiant
never anoint
With full poison pierce his arrows, never put fire
upon the point,
In his car or on his war-horse, should he chance
his foe to meet,
Let him smite not, if he find him lighted down upon
his feet:
Let him spare one standing suppliant, with his
closed hands raised on high.
Spare him if he sink exhausted, spare him if for
life he crave,
Spare him crying out for mercy, ‘ take me for I am
, thine slave ’
Still remembering his duty, never let the soldier
smite
One unarmed, defenceless, mourning for one fallen
in the fight:
Never strike the sadly wounded : never let the brave
attack
One by sudden terror smitten, turning in base fight
his back.’
The Kutayuddha: The unrighteous war in which
principles were sacrificed at the altar of expediency
went by the name of kuiayuddha. We meet with the
term kuta in the Atharva-Veda,^^ translated differently
as horn, trap, hammer, etc. The hymn says : ‘ Here are
spread the fetters of death, which stepping into thou
are not released, let this kuta slay of yonder army by
138 Bk. VIII. 8.16.
THE LAWS OP WAR
85
thousands According to the Brahmcmda Pura/m,
kutayuddha was also known as Citrayuddha in which
maya was put into practice. It is said that a certain
commander of Bhanda resorted to this and created a
Sarpani from whose limbs thousands of poisonous snakes
came out in torrents and bewildered the saktis on the
other side. (IV.2). ‘Whatever the word a may mean,
its occurrence may be tolerable proof of its use in killing
the hostile army by thousands. Neither horn nor trap
will kill an army in thousands. So we venture to
interpret the word in the Kautaliyan sense. In this,
resort was had to crafty methods, intrigue, charms, and
spells against the enemy, besides deadly weapons. The
Atharva Veda is full of these. Mention is made of
amulets (mani) leading to the overthrow of the rival
and to his own success.^*® One or two hymns may be
cited as typical.
‘ O Indra, confound the army of our enemies : with
the blast of fire, of wind, make them disappear, scatter-
ing.’ (5)
‘ Let Indra confound the army: let the Maruts slay
with force: let Agni take away its eyes: let it go back
conquered.’ (6)
‘ Yonder army of our adversaries, O Maruts, that
comes contending against us with force, pierce ye it with
baffling darkness, that one of them may not know
another.’^*®
The kutayuddha was the negation of the laws of
war. It permitted the use of deadly and poisoned
139 Bk. III. 3.
140 Bk. III. 2.6.
86
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
weapons whidi would slay thousands of men,^*^ to the
entire satisfaction of birds and beasts of prey.^** From
a hymn^*® of the Atharva Veda we may conclude that
poisoned arrows were largely used, and the conqueror
was usually afraid of them.
One aspect of this was ttisnim yuddha, or silent
warfare.^*^ It was to strike the ‘enemy secretly, as
contrasted with prakasa yuddha or open warfare. The
principles underlying this method of warfare were in
vogue from the time of the Bg Veda. We meet in the
Atharva Veda a number of battle-charms with the use
of plants like asvattha,^*® to overcome an enemy. Simi-
larly there are rites of sorcery against hostile warriors,^^®
and the use of incantations.^*^ Kautalya gives elaborate
details of this war, drawing largely, as we have to infer,
from the Atharva Veda. This has led some scholars to
the conclusion that this irreligious war has had the
approval of Kautalya. Writing a treatise on War Polity,
Kautalya had to refer to every aspect of it. So he also
wrote on the nature and principles of the kutayuddha.
It is wrong to regard him as Machiavellian in his
recommendations. If he countenanced the kutayuddha,
he had no business to rule that incendiarism, as an
instrument of war, was an irreligious and inhuman
141 A. V. Bk. I, 20, 21 ; Bk. VIII, 8. 4-5.
142 Bk. XI, 9 and 10.
143 Bk. rV, 6.
144 Bk. Vn, 6.
145 Bk. IV, 19.
146 Bk. Ill, 6.
147 Bk. X, 5.
THE LAWS OF WAB
87
method of destruction.^® In his view, if the enemy
practised kutayuddha, the defender must also resort to
it. That is, to advert to a previous remark, opponents
should be paid in their own coin. Hence warriors were
taught every mode of warfare. They should be equal to
the occasion lest they should be overpowered by cunning
or intrigue. To th^t extent, for defence purposes, the
kutajmddha is permissible, and the defender resorted to
it only if he found the opponent resorting to it. Other-
wise it is forbidden.
It has been realised that the use of poison, fire,
and similar means which are features of the kuta-
yuddha were regarded neither just nor fair in war.
For they would result in a vast amount of destruction
of men, property, cattle, and of other non-combatants.
‘ Thus laying the villages and corn-fields of the enemy
to waste, poisoning of tanks and wells, using weapons
with poisoned tips, setting fire to the camp, striking
the enemy concealed, decoying him into an unfavourable
position and striking him there, attacking him when
fatigued or in sleep or engaged in hmiting, are the
various methods of attacking the enemy. Other methods
which were resorted to in kutayuddha were to stir
up rebellion among the enemy’s subjects by bribery
and through secret agents, to murder him, to make
surprise attacks on him at night. In short, the baser
148 Bk. XIII, 4. It may be noted in passing that there aie
a number of hymns addressed to Agni in the Atharva Veda evidenth
to conquer the hostile army with fire. (Bk. II. 19; XI. 10. 18-19).
But it was condemned as irreligious down the ages (see for instance
Pvdukottai State Inscriptions, 744).
88
WAR m ANCIENT INDIA
methods of diplomacy, like maya and indrajal^, underlay
the lmtayuddha.“®
Though Sukra would recommend its use to subdue
the enemy who resorted to questionable methods and
who therefore waged an unjust warj^® he definitely says
later on thi^t in realising his ideal in that manner, the
conqueror places disgrace in front*' and honour at the
back.^®^ In other words, such a king incurs disgrace in
this world and sinks into hell. According to the
Bama/yaim, the Rak^sa indulged in kiitayuddha and it
was not commendable to honourable men.^®^ The Agni
Purdna allows weaker powers to resort to wily and
underhand methods,^®® when they found they had no
.other alternative than to engage in war.
Thus, though some of the Niti treatises seem to
permit this unrighteous warfare, yet the didactic epics
and law codes do not support it at all. As a method of
war it is condemned as unjust and unfair.
Intimately connected with this subject are two fur-
ther methods of warfare explained in the Kautallya, the
asura and the lobhavijaya, to which we have already
referred. In distinguishing a threefold warfare and
classifying the adharma war into two kinds — asura and
lobhavijaya — Kautalya draws a distinction between the
two. But it may be noted that this was a peculiar
division of Kautalya ’s. For the asura form of war is
149 Ar. Sds., Bk. XII, 2; Kamandaka 19.54-66.
150 IV, 7.1.350 and 725.
151 im., 11. 732-33.
152 Yuddha, 50. 15.
153 Ch. 240. 16.
THB LAW» OF WAR
89
mentioned in the Bamayaim}^ A feature of this was
the employment of the diplomatic instrument maya.
Guile is chiefly used to overcome the enemy. We
know that Indrajit produced a ma/ya SUa before Rama’s
army and killed her so that the army might become
dejected and lose all enthusiasm. In the jSukranltl again
the asurayuddha is* among the traditionally accepted
kinds of war.^®® We have seen according to the precepts
of fair fighting the kingdom of the enemy should not
be annexed, nor his women treated unchivalrously.
Again, no bodily punishment should be inflicted on the
person of the king or his commander. But the asura
war, which is the most heinous of all the three, approves
of all these illegal and forbidden methods in scoring a
victory. Even in actual battle there was no straight
fight in this form of war ; but victory was sought through
wily means. On this account Kautalya advises an
inferior power to keep such a demon-like conqueror at
a distance by offering him land and wealth. Otherwise
he would be wiped out of existence altogether. One
example of asura war in the Mauryan period was the
war with Kalinga fought by Asoka.^®® Its salutary effect
was to inaugurate a policy of dharmavijaya in his
foreign politics.
Traces of this kind of war are found in the
Sangam works which also breathe the lofty atmosphere
of dharmayuddha. From the Purananuru (15) it is
seen that the ruin of the enemy’s city was effected by
ploughing the roads and streets with donkeys and sow
154 VI. 100.
155 IV. 7. 221.
156 Xin Eock Edict. See Dikshitar’s paper in WoeHner Com-
memoration Volume (Lahore).
D— 12
WAR In ancient INDIA
do
ing seeds of castor, cotton, and other cereals.“^ Another
stanza (392) says that even the houses of gods were not
spared. In the expedition against Kalingam, though it
is said to have been fought on principles of fair fighting,
Karun^ara Tondaiman laid waste the whole of the
sea-coast kingdom of Kalinga.^®® A ruthless war was
asurayuddha. But it was rarely indulged in, and we
may conjecture that it is a relic of the ancient warfare
fought by the primitive tribes who had neither a code
of chivalry nor a code of ethics.
.Lobhavijaya: The other kind of war, lobhavijaya,
was not considered to be as base as the asura form.
In it the ravaging of the enemy’s territory, or poisoning
of his army, was not contemplated. Nor was there to be
a wholesale destruction of men and territory. The
conqueror was imbued with greed. He was satisfied if he
got gain in land or mpney. A weak power should satisfy
such a conqueror with wealth or with the cession of part
of Jiis territory. Covetousness is the motive underlying
this type of war. It came under the category of an
unrighteous war, for covetousness is no virtue but a sin,
out of which spring envy, jealousy, or hatred. It would
lead indirectly to the wars of aggression, which are not
recommended by the Niti Sastras. So the Mahabharata
says : ‘ Have your eyes on righteousness, casting off
covetousness. You should not abandon your duty
(svadharma) from lust or from desire of cattle.’ This
'^157 Cp. Roman custom of sowing salt and pronouncing curses.
158 See Kalingattupparani.
159 I
ST ^ SFFRm ^ il
dsnti., 106. 17 ; This is also the teaching of Tiruk-kura^.
THE lAWS or WAR
91
lobhavijaya, just like the asuravijaya, is an offensive
war, the motive being exploitation. ‘ Envious of the
welfare of other nations, jealous of their success, hating
them because of their peace and liberty, their own evil
splendour, these (kings and others) open out and declare
war to satisfy their covetousness, to slake that idiotic
thirst in which covetbusness ends — the thirst of conquest
for the sake of conquest. Such a war is the worst
of sins: and the men, who begin it or carry it on,
are, though all the world proclaim their glory, the
vilest and meanest of sinners.’^®® These words would
equally describe the Hindu view.
The phrase ‘ Laws of War ’ implies that if these
rules were broken or not observed properly, the State
had a right to punish the transgressor. One punish-
ment was social ostracism. He became an outcaste and
was debarred from enjoying the social privileges which
he as a K§atriya had enjoyed so far.^®^ Again, it is
said that the warrior who in order to save his
life retreated from the field of battle leaving his
comrades behind, should be done to death with sticks
or stones. Or he might be rolled in a mat of dry grass
and burnt to death. In a word, it is laid down that
such warriors as threw to the winds the regulations of
conduct and discipline laid down for them should
be slain like wild animals. The punishments were no
doubt severe, but they helped to keep strict discipline
among the rank and file of the K^triya hosts.
160 Stopford H. Brooke, A Discourse on War, p. 675 (The Hibbert
Joomal, 1915-16).
161 mh., Stoti. 96.9-10.
92 WAR IN ANCnSNT INDIA
CONCLUSION
The foregoing survey may convince an impartial
student of history that ihe ancient Hindus had evolved
precepts on fair fighting which formed a chivalrous code
.of military honour. But it must be admitted that these
laws of war including the laws of chivalry were so varied
and so complicated that they led to meffective discipline,
in some cases owing to excess on the part of leaders
and in others to the gradual extinction of the martial
qualities by misplaced generosity through forgiving
dangerous enemies who sought shelter or refuge in order
to study the enemy’s weakness and then attack him with
redoubled force. Glrahavarman’s assassination and
Rajyasri’s incarceration may be referred to here as
having evoked contemporary horror and condemnation
in the seventh century A.D. ‘ The sad fate of Prthivi
Raja Cahamana at the close of the Hindu period,’ says a
recent writer, ‘ tells an eloquent tale of the military
tragedy of ancient India.’
162 Date. op. dt. p. 85.
CHAPTER m
WEAPONS OF WAR AS GATHERED
FROM LITERATURE
SECTION I
BOWS AND ARROWS
Dhanur Veda classifies the weapons of ofEence and
defence into four — the mukta, the amukta, the muktor
mukta and the yantramukta. The NUiprakdsikd, on
the other hand, divides them into three broad classes,
the mukta (thrown), the amukta (not throwh), and
the mantramukta (discharged by mantras).^ The bows
(dhanus) and arrows (isu) are the chief weapons of the
mukta group.
It would not be out of place here to examine their
characteristics and uses as recorded in the earliest
literature known to the Hindus. Both in the Saihhitas
and in the Brahmanas we read of bows and arrows
besides the inevitable vajra of Indra, the Lord of
Heaven. The very fact that our military science was
named Dhanur Veda proves sufficiently clearly that
the bow and arrow were the principal weapons of
'War in those times. It was known by different terms
as samga, kodanda, and karmuka. Whether these
were synonyms of the same thing or were different, it
•ts difficult to say. In the age of the ^tg Veda Saihhita,
it would appear from the terms i§ukrt and i§ukara
that there existed a regular profession of arrow-
1 mi, n, 11-13; Cp. Agni PurOna, 249.2.
94
WAR IN ANCIB3NT INDIA
making.* l^he ^tg Vedic simth was not only a steel-worker
but also an arrow-maker. Wkile tbe bead of the arrow
jpas prepared by him, the rest was finished by a guild
of arrow-makers.®
It is interesting to read in the Aitareya Brahma^
a composition earlier than 600 B.c., how the gods
fashioned an arrow.* In the Upasads of the Somayajna
the gods made an arrow. Of it the ^int was Agni, the
socket Soma, the shaft Visnu, and the feathers Varuna.
Using butter as the bow, the arrow was thrown. This
enabled the piercing of citadels. Again, at the Upasads
recourse was had to four teats for milk: and this was
because of the socket, the shaft, and the feathers.
JB\irther, the fore-offerings and the after-offeiings were
divine armour.® These fore-offerings and after-offerings
were to prevent rending by an arrow. Thus here we
are introduced to the essential elements of an arrow,
and its effective use. Again in the Rajasuya portion of
the Pancika V mention is made of weapons like the bow
and the arrow, and the defensive cuirass for the body.®
To turn our attention to the Kausitaki Brahmana in
the Abhyudita sacrifice, the daksina (fee) is a bow with
three arrows. It is said that a bow is unfailing in giving
a safe and sound journey.'^ Thus the principal weapons
that fi^re in this class of literature are bows and arrows.
The NUiprdkdsikd mentions twelve kinds of arms
under the mukta category. Among these the bow jSgures
9 B.VJ., 184, 3; Vaja. Sam. 30. 7.
3 See IHQ., V, p. 434 and ». on p. 435.
4 I. 25. IV, 8 (A. B. Keith).
5 I. 26. IV, 9.
6 VII. 19 (34.1).
7 K. Brdh. TV. 2.
WEAPONS OF WAR AS OATHERED FROM UTERATURD 95
prominently and it still exists. It is tour cubits int
heiiglit, bent at three places and with a tusk-like opening.®!
We are told that the bow-string should be taken by the
right hand and bent by the left. The thumb should be
; placed on the arrow. Two strings are invariably used for
a bow. The left-hand portion of the bowman must possess’
a defensive leather armour, and a quiver is to be hung
from his neck. Fourteen different movements in the
practice and use of this weapon are given.® The word
astm in the Sukraniti is interpreted by Dr. Oppert as
a bow.^® But to interpret it as an arrow seems to be
more eorrect.^^ The Agnipurdna furnishes details of a
bow. The rod of a bow may be made of any of the three
materials, steel, horn, or wood.^® The strings may be
made of the fibre of bamboo or other trees. The rod of
a wooden bow was four cubits or six feet in length, and*"
that of middling or inferior class measured a cubit less.
Thick substances were wrapped round the grip so
as to make the shaft of the bow steady and also easy.
The bow made of steel must have a small grip, and its
middle portion is said to resemble the eyebrow of a
lady. It is usually made in parts, or together and inlaid
with gold. The horns used in the making of bows are
those of a buffalo, rhinoceros, or rohisa and- of the
mythical animal sarabha, while the wood is of sandal,
8 mtl, II. 17 and IV. 8-9.
9 Ibid., IV. 18-20.
10 Sukra, TV. 6-10.
■11 Ibid. The term astra means a missile, an3rthing which is
dischai^d. Xgneya astra means a fiery arm as distinguished from
a firearm. For a firearm means any weapon projected by means of
fire.
12 Agni PurSna, 245. 5.6 and 7-10.
u
WAR IN ANCIB3NT INDIA
sSla, cane, kukubha or dhabala. But the bamboo bow
is the best of all. Arjuna's Gan^va was perhaps of this
material. While the bowstrings are of muhja grass,
arka plant, hemp, cav6du, bamboo and sinew, the rod
of the bow may be of gold, silver or copper. Kautalya
distinguishes four kinds of bows — ^Karmuka made of
palmyra, Kodanda of bamboo, Drulia of damwood and
Dhanus of bone or hom. It may be noted in passing
that the bow of Sri Krsna was of hom.
According to Sivavya^a DTianur Veda, the measure-
ment of a bow is given as 4 X 24 inches.^® In the KodoA/ida
Ma/ndana the various characteristics of a bow are given.
Eighteen kinds of bows are mentioned according as the
strings are heavy or light.^* The various weights and
measurements of the differents kinds of bows are also
given in it. The weight of a yogin’s^^®^ capa or bow
is two palas, of one practising or learning the science,
i^s 300 palas, and the weight of that which is made
of reeds 400 palas, that which could be hit with
the bowstring is also 400 palas, that used in battle
700 palas, and that used from a distance 950 or 1,000
pala?. Very heavy bows could not be used effectively.
A description of the divine bow used only by celestials
is then given.
It is said that the archer who uses bows as described
in the Sutras attains great glory.“ For example,
Bhisma used a bow six cubits long against Sankha, a
diocesan. That Kalidasa is well acquainted with the
13 Sdrmga, 1748.
14 Fibres of murva, arka, Sana, gavethu, vena and snSyn are
mentioned by Kautalya.
14a One endowed with magical powers.
15 Kodanda, Oh. 5.
WSIAPONS OF WAR AS GATHERED FROM LITERATURE 97
f
use of the bow is seen from the Baghuyamsa. He
refers to the twang of the bowstring of both Bama and
Lak^ana heard by Tataka,^® Also in the Sakuntctkm
there are several references in which Dusyanta is\}redited
with high skill in archery.” Thus the chief weapon of
war in primitive days was the bow which was drawn
to_the ear, and not as m Greece, to the breast. Its use
is not altogether extinct even now. The Khasas or the
hill tribes of Assam have a simple bow while the Western
Nagas have a bullet bow. Incidentally we may speak of
the crow-bow whose origin is attributed to Mongolia, and
which is now in popular use with the tribes of Indo-
China.^® In Wilson’s words, ‘ the Hindus cultivated
archery most assiduously and were very Parthians in
the use of the bow on horse-back.’ One feature of this
weapon was that it could be handled by all the four
classes of warriors.
The arrow comes next. Its length is three cubits.
Two movements are peculiar to it. How an arrow came
to be designated sara is seen in the Satapatha Brah-
mana,” where it is stated that when Indra threw his
thunderbolt against Vrtra it became separated into four
parts. The first three were the wooden sword (sphya),
post (yupa) and the chariot. The last piece which was
broken off by the blow fell on the ground as a sara
(arrow). Because it was broken it came to be so
designated. There are also other references to it. What
the arrow-head is to the arrow so is the Agni to the
16 BaflrM. 11.15; 12.103.
17 Salem. II. 4 and 6.
18 See Man in India, (Ang. 1932).
19 1. 2- 4.! See also VI. 5.2.10.
D— 13
98
WAJt IN ANCIENT II^IA
sacrifice.*® The Kau§itaki Brahmana mentions it as a
part of the sacrificial fee.*^
The making of arrows is described in the Affni
Furdna as follows.** They are made either of iron or
bamboo, the latter well grained, of good vein, and of a
‘golden colour.** It has feathers at the tail end and
must be oiled so as to be easy of use. It also possesses
gold-tipped points. Three kinds of arrows are distin-
guished, the best, the middling, and the inferior. Each
must be discharged by holding its feathered end with
the thumb. The shaft of the superior type of arrows
measures 12 mustis (perhaps one musti — one pala), of
the middling one 11, and of the last 10 mustis. Manu
refers to these weapons also. Kalidasa speaks of sharp,
deep and strong shafts,** while Kautalya mentions five
kinds, venu, sara, salaka, dandasara, and naraca.*® Some
20 II. 3.3.
21 IV. 2.
22 Affni Furdna, 245.12.
23 According to the Harihara Caiu/ranga they were made of
tSlatrnam, drama (sala or vamsa), danta, smga of Sarabha (Bk. v).
In the Visnudharmottara they are said to be made of metal, firnga
and dSra like vamsa or bamboo. This, shows that in the passage
of time, the old things were found useless and given up. The
use of metal is significant and indicates the latest development
in the art of war. It is worth noting that the Laksamprakdsa quotes
from a work Vaidyakatantra where a capa of saptSnga (seven limbs)
is considered auspicious, and from yet another work Traiyamhika
Dhawurveda which refers to ten kinds of capa (pp. 275-77). Most
of them agree with the descrij^tion given in the Viracintdmani
Dhanurveda (Ibid., p. 279).
24 Sdkun. 1.10.
25 NSrSca was a bSna made of metal. The term bS^a in the
time of Bhoja meant an arrow. Here the shaft was light but stiff
with a sharp point. Vasiftha speaks of nSrfica made of iron, five-
" ^ WEAPONS OF WAR AS GATHERED FROM LITERATURE 99
ape provided with iron points for cutting, bone points
for rending, and wooden ones for piercing. A man
who could pierce through inetal plates half the thickness
of a finger, or twenty-four layers of leather, was con-
sidered proficient.*®
How to use both the bow and arrow is thus elabor-
ately described.*^ Taking the arrow with the right and
the bow with the left hand, the archer should string it.
The feathered end of the arrow must be made to rest on
it, leaving a small space between the string and the rod.
The bow must be drawn to the ear, and to the full extent
in a straight line. Care must be taken in discharging
an arrow. The position he should take when aiming
at a particular object must be a triangular one. But
this is not the only position known to the science of
archery. We have others also. The first is the Samapada
or a standing position where the leg, the calf, the palm,
and the thumb of the hands are closely knit against
each other. The Vamkha consists in standing on tip-
toe with thighs in a fixed position and a space between
the two feet on the ground. The Mandala is done by
standing in a circular or semi-circular posture, leav^ing
more space between the two feet than in the former.
The Alidha is a position where the right thigh and knee
are to be kept steady while the left is drawn back. The
Pratyali^a is the revei'se of this position. That of
Sthanam occupied on the whole the measurement equal
to the fingers. In the Niscala the left knee was held
sided and five-feathered. It is said that very few succeeded in
shooting with a nSrftca (l.H.Q., vii, p. 707).
26 Ibid., p. 708.
27 Agni Purdna, 240. 9-19.
100
WAR IN ANClfiNT INDIA
straight and the right knee bent. The Yikata was
where the right leg was placed straight and the Samputa
was where both the legs were raised and the knees were
bent, while ia the Svastika both legs were stretched
straight, the feet protruding outside.^
Arrian^ speaks of one mode of equippiag the
^Indian soldiers for war. The foot-soldiers invariably
carried bows. Resting these on the ground and pressing
them with the left foot, the soldier discharged the
arrow. The shaft in use was about three yards in
length. ‘ There is nothing which can resist an Indian
archer’s shot, neither shield nor breast-plate nor any
stronger defence if such there be. On the left hand they
carry bucklers of imdressed hide. Some wear javelins
in the place of bows, but all of them wear a sword with
a broad blade about three cubits long This they use
only in close fight.’
It is interesting to examine side by side with these
the weapons used in ancient Greece and Rome.®® The
missile used was the javelin or dart. But with later
developments in archery on account of the shortness of
its range it soon fell into disuse. There seem to have
been different varieties of the bow, such as long bows and
28 The recent finds at Mohenjodaro and Harappa reveal a
number of weapons of war in use in the Chalcolithic period. These
are bows and arrows, axes, spears, daggers, maces, slings, and cata-
pults. The sword is however conspicuous by its absence. Confining
our attention for the present to the bow and arrow, and judging
from a specimen of an arrow head made of copper and from the
absence of stone arrow heads, we have to infer that these weapons
.were sparingly used.
29 Indika of Arrian (McCrindle).
30 The Tutorial History of Greece, pp. 336-37,
WSIAPONS OF WAH AS QAtEBAFD FROM LlTFfiATUIUB 1 01
cross bows. To the Greek, Apollo was the bow-god. In
Greece, bows were made of wool, horn, horse-hair, and
even hide. But the disadvantages of such arrows and
bows were experienced during winter, when they became
relaxed and consequently became inefficient. In India in
almost every war recorded either in the Purapic or Epic
literature, bows and* arrows loom very large. It would
be interesting to recall the story of Prince Peerless from
the Jataka.^^ ‘ One day his king wanted to test his
skill and asked him to bring down a cluster of mango
fruits with an arrow from a tree beyond. On this he
removed the white cloths which he had on and put on a red
waist cloth and fastened his girdle. He equipped him-
self with a sword on his left side, a mail of gold, a bow
with a red string and turban on his head and with arrow
set to the bow, he asked the king whether he is to get
the cluster with an upward shot or he is to make the
arrow drop on it. The king who was not acquainted
with the latter method suggested it. The arrow was
discharged and down came both the cluster and the
arrow, the latter making a terrible noise.’
The prince caught the arrow in one hand and the
cluster in the other so that they might not fall down
on the ground. The king commended his skill and
duly honoured him. From this it would appear that this
great and useful military science was flourishing and
received encouragement from the State.
SBCTIOM n
FIRE ARMS
In this connexion it would be interesting to
31 The J&takas, Vol. II. 181 (Cowell).
102
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
examine the true nature of the agneya-astras. Kautalya
describes agni-bana,®^ and mentions three recipes —
agni-dhara^a, ksepyo-agni-yoga, ^d visvasaghati The
agni-dharana is said to consist of small balls made of
the dung of the ass, camel, goat and sheep, mixed
with the wood of sarala (pinus longifolia), devadaru
(deodar), the leaf of putitrna (lerfion grass), guggulu,
srivestaka»(turpentine) and lac. The ksepyo-agni-yoga
was a fire arm consisting of ‘ the dung of the horse, ass,
camel or cattle, mixed with priyala curna (buchanania
latifolia), avalguja (vernonia authelmintica), lamp black
and bees’ wax Visvasaghati was composed of ‘ the
powder of all the metals as red as fire or the
mixture of the powder of kumbhi, lead, zinc, mixed
with the charcoal powder of the flowers of pari-
bhadraka, pal^ and hair, and with oil wax and
turpentine From the nature of the ingredients of
the different compositions it would appear that they
were highly inflammable and could not be easily extin-
guished. About the third and the last recipe, a recent
writer remarks: ‘ The Visvasaghati-agni-yoga was vir-
tually a bomb which burst and the fra^ents of
metals were scattered in all directions. ' agni-ba^a
was the fore-runner of a gun-shot Sometimes
the metallic head of the arrow was made red-hot by
charcoal fire and the hot arrow will prove more
dangerous than the cool. The aboriginal tribes of Kols
and Santals of Bengal and Bihar shoot bear with redhot
arrows, which they say, kill the beasts while cool arrows
prove ffineffectivei. It is to be noted that among the
32-, Xni. 4. In the LalitpplhhTtlna of the BrahmS-p^ Purfipa
fire arms are mentioned as being lUMki in the war with Bha^^,
■WEAPONS OP WAB AS GATHERED PROM UTBRATURB 108
war materials collected m the battlefield of Kumksetra
charcoal was one
Intimately connected with this topic is the question
whether the ancient Hindus knew the use of gunpowder
and gims. Sir A, M. Elliot tells us that the A rabs learnt
the manufacture of gunpowder from India, and that
before their Indian leonnexion they had used arrows of
naphtha. It is also argued that though Persia possessed
saltpetre in abundance, the original home of gunpowder
was India. C It is said that the Turkish wordtojumd the
Persian tupang or tufang are derived from the Sanskrit
dhupa. Th.e dhupa of the Agni Purana means a rocket,
^rhaps a corruption of the Kautaliyan term nala
dlpika.^ )
In the light of the above remarks we shall trace the
evolution of fire-arms in ancient India. Commencing
our enquiry from the Rg VedaSamhitd, there is evidence
to show that agni (fire) was praised for vanquishing an
enemy. The Atharva Veda shows the employment of
fire-arms with lead shots.*® The Aitareya Brahmana®*
describes an arrow with fire at its tip. The terra surmi
in the Rg Veda,^ considered in the light of its use as the
death penalty for criminal offenders as in the Mdnava-
dharma-sdstra^ must have been of the nature of a
hollow tube and has nothing to do with guns.
In the Mahdbhdrata and the Rdmdyana, the employ-
33 Jogesh Chandra Eay; Fire Arms in Ancient India,
■viii, p. 268.
34 Tbid., pp. 586-88.
35 I. 16.4.
36 I. 4.8.
37 I. 5.
88 XI. 103.
104
WAK IN ANCIENT INDIA
ment of figneyastras is frequently mentioned, and this
deserves careful examination in the light of other
important terms like ayah, hanapa and tulorgvda.
Though the commentator Nilakantha would easily
explain them away as guns, kanapa is perhaps the same
as kurmpa in the Matsya Purdna.^^ In the Dasakumdra-
caritra the term is kanapa, and ‘the reading of the
Matsya Parana perhaps may be faulty. The other term,
tuVd-gvda which is said to produce a noise like thunder
is difficult to explain.*® Guda is perhaps the same as
gula, meaning a ball projected by a lever (tula). In the
Matsya Parana ayoguda stands for a bullet of iron.**
In the Epics again aurva figures as a fire-arm.*®
Aurvagni means subterranean fire, the invention of
which was probably attributed to the sage Aurva. It
cannot be taken seriously as a fire-arm and may fitly
find a place among the mythical weapons of offence.
We have spoken already of naraca, and it is worthy of
note that the term appears side by side with nalika in
the Epics.*® Evidently they refer to two distinct types
of metallic arrows. The nalikas were missiles often
barbed. In later days the term meant guns.
The Sukranltisdra uses nalika in this sense and
speaks of two kinds of nalikas, the large and the small.
The latter was used by horsemen and footmen. The
bigger variety which had no wooden stock was carried
on wheels. The agnicurna or gunpowder wad composed
89 Ch. 149. V. 8.
40 Vana Parva, 42.5.
41 Ch. 153. V. 133.
42 Mhb., Vana Parva, Ch. 82.
43 BSmd^, VI. 45.23 ; MKb., Bhl^a Pam, 106. 83.
WEIAPONS OF WAR AS GATHERED FROM LITERATUBJE3 105
of 4 to 6 parts of s.alt-petre, one part of sulphur, and
one part of charcoal of arka, sruhi and other trees burnt
in a pit and reduced to powder. Here is certain evidence
of the ancient rockets giving place to actual guns in
war-fare. Prom the description of the composition of
gunpowder, a later date is ascribed to the composition of"
the Sukramti which* cannot stand close scrutiny. Be
this as it may, the conclusion is unmistakable that guns
were largely in use even not far after the beginning of
the Christian era. In the Vdsistha Bliannrveda, a later
work, naraca, nalika, sataghni figure as fire-arms.^* .
A word may be said about the sataghna or sataghni.
Sukra and Vasistha use this word in the sense of
cannon. But it is doubtful whether in earlier times,
for instance in the epoch of the Epics, it meant a cannon.
Possibly it did not. In its literal sense it meant a
machine able to kill a hundred men. It seems to have
been a heavy column of stone or timber fixed with iron
spikes on the ramparts of fortresses. Kautalya refers
to it in this sense only. The ancient fortresses of
Ayodhya and Lanka had these machines provided on
their ramparts.^® There is the authority of the Hari-
vamsa to indicate that there were smaller types of these
machines carried in the hand. But these types do not
find mention in the later military literature; the term
used there unmistakably refers to cannon. It can
therefore be safely concluded that these weapons, guns,
and cannon were popular in India at the best before the
44 See also ViracintSmani Dhanurveda quote<| in the Ldksann-
prakdSS, p. 282.
45 See P. C. Dharma: The Edmfiyana, Polity, Madras (1941),
pp. 72-73.
D— 14
106
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
advent of the Portuguese towards ttie close of the 15tii
century.
SECTION m
OTHER WEAPONS
The BhindipMa and the nine •following are minor
weapons of this class. Probably this was a heavy club
which had a broad and bent tail end, measuring one cubit
in length.*® It was to be used with the left foot of the
warrior placed in front. The various uses of this
weapon were cutting, hitting, striking and breaking.*’ It
was like a kunta but with a big blade.*® It was used by
the Asuras in their fight with Kartavirya Arjuna.
The next, sakti, is identified with the spear.** It
was two cubits long and had an open and a broad mouth
in shape like the leaf of a tree. Its ends resembled the
udder of a cow and were four hastas in length. It
required the use of both the hands. Six kinds of position
regarding this are given. The blade was of metal and
the handle of wood. This as well as the Bhindipala are
mentioned also by Kautalya. Kalidasa puts its use for
cutting open the body.®®
The Drughana, again in shape like the mudgara, is
46 mu., IV. 30-31.
47 Agni Purana, 252. v. 15.
48 Ganapati Sastri, Vol. I. p. 252.
49 mu., IV. 32-35; Ganapati Sastri, Vol. I. p. 251; Raghu.,
12.77.
50 The AuSanasa Dhanurveda skives more details. The fiakti is
said to be of three kinds — the best, middling and inferior. Their
handle was again of four kinds — ^bamboo, wood, ivory and iron (See
Loksam Prakasa, pp. 313(f). i
(WEAPONS OF WAR AS GATHERED FROM LITERATURE 107
translated as a latohet by Dr. Oppert®^ but probably was
a wooden mace or a staff headed with a heavy spiked
ball of iron, as is seen from the further details given
in the stanza. Its length was from 4 feet to 2 inches,
and it was put to f oui* kinds of use. It is also mentioned
by Kautalya.
The Tomara is another weapon of war frequently
mentioned in all kinds of warfare.®^ It was of two kinds,
an iron club (sarvayasam) and a javelin {danda)-^
According to Vaisampayana it was a club three cubits
long and capable of three different movements. Accord-
ing to the Agni Pumrm it was to be with the help of an
arrow of straight feathers, and was powerful in dealing
blows on the eyes and hands of an enemy. But Kautalya ’s
commentator says that it is a rod with an arrow-like
edge. It was of three kinds, the inferior, the middling,
and the best, according to their respective measurements,
4, 4| or 5 hastas in length.
The Nalika®^ is a hand gun or musket rightly piercing
the mark. It was straight in form and hollow inside. It
discharged darts if ignited. As has been already said,
Sukracarya speaks of two kinds of nalikas, one big and
the other small. The small one, with a little hole at the
end, measured sixty angulams {i.e., distance between tho
thumb and the little finger) dotted with several spots at
the muzzle end. Through the touch hole or at its breech
which contained wood, fire was conveyed to the charge. It
51 mu., IV. 36-37.
52 mu., IV. SS-Sd", Agni Purdna, 252. v. 10; Qanapati Sastri,
p. 252 (Pt. 1).
53 AuSanasa Dhanurveda qtiotcd in LaJcsana Prakdia, pp. 311 ft.
54 Ibid., 4041; ^vkra, IV, 7, 194-200; Kdman. V, 52; Koisadha,
JJ. 28.
108
WAR IN ANCIENT -INDIA
was generally used by foot-soldiers. But the big gun had
no wood at the breech and was so heavy that it had to be
conveyed in carts. The balls were made of iron, lead or
other material. Kamandaka uses the word nalika in
the sense of a firing gun as a signal for the imwary king.
Again in the Naisadha, a work of the mediaeval period,
there is a beautiful stanza where the two brows of
Damayanti are compared to the two bows of the god of
love and goddess of love, and her two nostrils to the
two guns capable of throwing balls. Thus there is clear
evidence of the existence and use of firing guns in India
in very early times.
The Laguda was probably a cudgel or heavy staff
with metallic feet.®° It was two cubits long. It could be
used in four different ways. It was sometimes put to the
same uses as a Bhindipala. It was cased in a sheath of
leather and held either with both hands or only with
the right hand.
The next weapon is the Pasa,®* which is a noose kill-
ing the enemy at one stroke, of two or three ropes used
as a weapon attributed to the god Varuna. It was
triangular in shape and embellished with balls of lead.
It was associated with three kinds of movements. Four
different ways of throwing a noose are mentioned. In the
Agni Purdna are described eleven ways of turning it to
one’s own advantage by dexterity of hand: some of them
are turning back, advancing forward, using it lightly
and also extraordinarily quickly and rending asunder.
In this Purana a noose is ten cubits long made of cotton,
thread, munja grass, leather, or sinews of aninials. It
65 mu., IV. 4243.
•56 Ibid., 4546; Agnd Purdm, ch. 252. w. 5-8.
WIBAPONS OF WAR AS GATHBRFD FROM lATERATURB 109
may be thirty cubits long and folded up in three rings.
It was held on the left side and then taken to the right
and whirled over the head. It could be easily thrown
from a horse in trot. It is said that by the performance
of the Varu^a-Prakasas, the sons of Prajapati were
released from the noose of Vanina.®^ ''
The Cakra,®* tl*e next weapon in the category, is a
circular disc with a small opening in the middle. It was
of three kinds of eight, six and four spokes.®^ It was
used in five or six ways. It resembled the quoit of the
Sikhs to-day. The various uses of a disc were felling,
whirling, rending, breaking, severing, and cutthig. It
is one of the instruments peculiar to Visnu. Kautalya
speaks of it as a movable machine.
The Dantakapta®® is another weapon of war, perhaps
of the shape of a tooth, made of metal, of strong handle
and a straight blade. It had two movements.
The Musundi®^ is the last weapon in this category
and was probably an eight-sided cudgel. It was furnished
with a broad and strong handle. Its peculiar movements
were whirling and jerking. It apparently comes from
the root-meaning to cleave or break into pieces, and is
perhaps akin to the Musala.
All these weapons are found used in one battle or
another both in the Mahdhhdrata and the Bd/tnayam.
57 Kau. Brdh. V. 3.
58 Nlti. IV. 47-48; Agni Purana, 252. w. 5-7.
59 See AuSanasa Dhanurveda quoted in the Laksana PrakSSa,
pp. 309 ff.
60 Ibid,, IV. 49-50.
61 Ibid., rv. 51-52. In the Brahma^da Purapa mentie" is made
of Bhosupdi
110
VfASt IN ANCUNT INOU
SBOTIONi IV
THE AMUKTA WEAPONS
We may now study the Amukta group of weapons,
which are of twenty kinds according to Vai&impayana.
Here also we shall try to follow the list.
The first was the Vajra or the thunderbolt. In the
Tirthayatra portion of the Mahdhharata^^ a mytho-
logical origin is given to this weapon. It was made out
of the backbone of the ^tsi Dadhici which was freely
given by him to Indra. Originally perhaps it had six
sides and made a terrible noise when hurled. There seem
to have been different varieties in the use of this weapon.
In the jSatapatha the thunderbolt that Indra
hurled against Vrtra is described as having 1,000 spikes
and 100 edges. The sacrificial post in the Kausltakl
Brahmana^ is referred to as a thunderbolt. Its breadth
and length were fifty and a hundred miles respectively.
It had sharp points and a good handle. Four movements
are attributed to it. Sometimes the ends of this weapon
were whirled round in such a way as to hold a bhindipala
in the middle. The Pattisa,®® another weapon of war,
is sometimes put to the uses of a Vajra.
The Isu is translated as a hand sword by Dr. Oppert,
but may be an arrow or a reed-like weapon. Halayudha
identifies it with Kas^tra.®® It had a bent front, and
the whole measured two cubits in length. Four move-
62 Vana Parva. 99.
63 I. 2.4.
64 X. 1. '
65 Agid Pwrim, 252. v. 16.
66 12.23; OT<i. V. 7-8.
WEAPONS OF WAK AS GATHERED FROM UTERATURE HI
mwits were associated with it. Perhaps AtikJlya, ihe
Raksasa, used it in his engagement with Laksmana.
The Parana*’ is the battle-axe attributed to Parasu-
rama, of great fame. Its blade was made of steel and
it had a wooden handle. Another variety of it was a
mighty staff holding the head of an ace at its end. Thr^e
kinds are distinguished.®* It was used for cutting and
rending. The Semitic origin assigned to this weapon of
war cannot be taken as correct, for there is nothing in
the Itg Vedic religion that has not an Aryan source.®*
The six ways of njanipulating it to one’s own advantage
are raising aloft in a formidable manner, making it
descend slowly or quickly, raising it rapidly, making it
fixed, and making as if one had nothing in one’s hand.
The commentator on the Kautaliya says it is a scimitar
and semi-circular and twenty-four inches long.
The Gosiras™ is probably a spear resembling the
shape of a cow-hom two feet in length. The lower
portion is made of wood, and the upper of iron. Its
action is five-fold. Tradition represents that Indra
presented this weapon to Manu, the first king of the
world.
The Asidhenu'” is a small dagger one cubit in length.
It has three edges and is used in close fighting. Its
handle is slender and small. Perhaps it is the same as
the Asiyasti of Kautalya.
67 lUd., V. 9-10.
. 68 Anfianasa Dhanurveda quoted in Laksana Prak^a, pp. 310-11.
^9 Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, p. 88; Agni Purana,
252. V. 13.
70 mti, V. 11-14.
71 md., V, 16-17.
112
WAE IN ANCIBNT INDIA
The Lavitra” is a sickle, an instrument used in
mowing and reaping. It has a crooked shape, sharp at
the end. It has a comparatively big handle. Both
hands are used in hurling it^
The Astra™ is associated with the boomerang, and
has a long head at the top and a knot at the foot, with
the middle bent. Whirling, drawing, and rending are
its three movements. In the Madras Museum three
boomerangs — two of ivory and one of wood — are exhi-
bited. Dr. Oppert had drawn attention to these, and
said that they were not of Australian origin but native
to the soil and especially to South India, where the
boomerang is known as valaitadi or bent stick.
The Kunta™ is a lance and also a kind of barbed
dart, six to ten cubits long. It can be manipulated in
six ways. It is of iron and has six edges. Sukra speaks
of ten hastas as its measurement, having the end of a
ploughshare capable of opposing another dart. It is
mentioned in the Rg Veda. According to Kautalya’s
commentator who seems to follow the Aumnasa Dhanur-
veda^^ it is a wooden rod 5 to 7 hastas in length. It is
of three kinds, the best, the middling, and the inferior,
measuring 7, 6 and 5 hastas respectively. The Raja-
vijaya, however, mentions a tool of 11 hastas and
9 hastas.™
The Sthuna™ was a pillar-like instrument and has
72 Ibid., 18-19.
73 Ibid., 20-21.
74 Nlti., 22-23 ; §vkra, IV, 7, 215 ; Ganapati Sastri, 252 '(Vol 1) •
75 Quoted in Laksana Prakdsa, pp. 316 ff,
76 Quoted in Ldksma Prakasa, p. 318.
77 NtH., V. 24.
WEAPONS OF WAR AS GATHERED* FROM LITERATURE US
the height of a man with several knots at the top.
Dr. Oppert speaks of it as an anvil.
The PrSsa'^® measured four hastas and had a sharp
face. Vaisampayana speaks of it as made of bamboo
with a metallic head. It was handled in four ways. Its
length was seven cubits. It figures also in the Bg VedaC
Kautalya’s commeniator speaks of it as 24 inches long
with two handles.
The Pin^a'^® is the §ula of Siva, usually translated
as a trident. It had three prongs made of iron and the
front is of brass. It measured four cubits. Sukraearya
speaks of it as trisiras measuring three hastas. Its uses
are striking, thrusting, rending, cutting to pieces, break-
ing, and severing.
The Gada*® is a heavy rod of iron with one hundred
spikes at the top. '^Fhree kinds are distinguished accord-
ing to the Ausanasa Dhanurveda.^^ One of four cubits
was able to destroy elephants and rocks. It could be
handled in twenty different ways. By means of gun-
powder it could be used as a projectile weapon of w^ar.
Its principal use was to strike the enemy either from a
raised place or from both sides and strike terror into the
enemy especially of the Gomutra array. Various ways
of handling it with skill were bending, stooping low,
springing forward, retreating, ready to fly upon, and so
doing as to generate fear. Kautalya includes it in his
list of movable machines.
The Mudgara®^ was a staff in the shape of a hammer
78 Sukra, 4, 7, 214; Nlti., V. 25-26.
79 Nlti., 27-29 ; Sukra, 4, 7, 215 ; Agni Purana, 252. v. 9.
80 mtu V, 29-34; ^ukra, 4, 7, 212; Agni Purana, 252. v. 12.
81 Quoted in Laksana Prakdsa, p. 315.
82 mti., V. 35-36; Raghu., 12-73; Kautalya (Tr.), 101.
D— 15
114 WAR*1N ancient INDIA
three cubits in length, and with a strong circular handle.
The Amarahosa mentions it with the Durghana men-
tioned above. It was used to break heavy stones and
rocks. Sankaracarya compares moha or magical delusion
to a Mudagara in a short poem entitled Mohamudgara.
It is sometimes used in the sense of a club to break
down clods of earth. This is again a movable machine
according to Kautalya.
The Sira^ is translated as a ploughshare by
Dr. Oppert. It was bucket-like instrument curved on
both sides and with a wide opening made of iron. It was
as long as a man’s height.
The Musala®* is a weapon of Balarama. It was a
pestle-like club, both ends well knit together. It was
a pointed rod made of khadira. It belongs to the
category of Sula or trident. In the Rama-Ravana
yuddha, the Raksasas used Musalas of iron embellished
with gold.
The Pattisa®® is a kind of spear with a keen edge
made of copper or iron. Dr. Oppert translates it as a
battle-axe. This does not seem to be correct, because the
same weapon is mentioned in the previous list. There
was a hand-guard in the handle. It had two keen blades
of iron and measured the height of a man. Mention is
also made of it both in the Sukramtl and the Agni
Purdna. Kautalya speaks of it as a razor-like weapon.
The Maustika,®* or fist-sword, may be a sharp knife
perhaps used in boxing encounters. It had a strong
83 Ibid., V. 37. ! ‘ '
84 Ibid., 38. ' '
85 39 ; 4, 7, 212 ; uigrnt Pwrfl^, 252. 16.
86 V. 4044; 4044; 4, 7, 218.
WEAPONS OF WAR AS GATHERED FROM UTERATURE ll6
handle and was capable of making all sorts of move-
ments. It had a sharp end in the shape of a navel and
was radiant as the moon.
The Parigha**^ was a wooden beam used for locking
or shutting a gate, and was a battering ram. According
to Vaisampayana it was made of wood and circular in
shape. It was so heavy that a whole army of soldiers
would be required to handle it.
The Mayukhi,®** or a staff with a hilt, had the height
of a man and was furnished with small bells. A shield
was also provided for it.
The ^ataghni,®® literally means that which had the
power of killing a hundred at a time. It looked like a
Gada and is said to be four cubits in length. It had a
strong handle, and also possessed a number of iron spikes
in it. It is generally identified with the modem cannon
and hence was a projectile weapon of war. Mallinatha
quotes from Kesava in his commentary on the word
occurring in the verse 95 of Chapter 12 of the Baghu^
vamsa:
sataghni tu catustala lohakantaka samcita yastihl
iti Ke^vah.
It was generally placed on the walls of a fort and is in-
cluded among the movable machines by Kautalya. These
and other weapons are frequently mentioned as employed
actually in the wars of the Ramdyana and the Mahor
hha/rata. Thus both the mukta and amukta weapons are
32 in number, all made according to tradition from the
bones of the sage Dadhici as explained in the Mahon
87 Baghu., 16.84; NtH., V. 45.
88 mti., 46-41.
89 Ihid., 48-49; BagM., 12.95; .Ir. Sas., (Tm.) 101. ,
116
WAR IN ANCIENT INDU
bhdrata. They were made out of the bones of his body
except the backbone, of which was formed the Vajra.
But in the Amukta category an important weapon of
war, the A si or the sword,®® is not included. Its
onhssion is due, not to the lack of knowledge, for Vaisam-
‘payana has practically devoted a whole chapter to its
description, but to the fact that it has been referred
to elaborately enough in a previous chapter. Vaisam-
payana thought it unnecessary to repeat it here. Or
it may be that it was such a useful celestial weapon that
it had to be treated separately and not along with the
ordinary weapons that are given in the list. The Asi®^
is also known in Sanskrit literature by different other
names — Nistrimsa, Visamana, Khadga, Tiksnadhara,
Durasada, Srigarbha, Vi jay a, and Dharmamula, mean-
ing respectively cruel, fearful, powerful, fiery, unassail-
able, affording wealth, giving victory, and the source of
maintaining dharma. And these are generally the
characteristics of a sword. It was commonly worn on
the left side and was associated with thirty-two different
movements. It measured fifty thumbs in length and
four inches in width.
It is of particular interest to read the legendary
origin of the sword. Nakula, the best swordsman of his
day, asked Bhisma on his death-bed how it came into
being. The following is the substance of what Bhisma
said in reply.®® Brahma created all creatures and also
90 Ill,
91 For the practical uses of the weapon see Laksam Prak&sa,
p. 293.
92 ^ti and Apad Parva. 166. Compare this account with
that given in the Viftf,‘udk<armottara.
WEAPONS OP WAE AS GATHERED PROM LITERATURE 117
the Vedas. But the Asuras never paid heed to these and
often had recourse to evil ways. The people could no
more bear their misdeeds and prayed to Brahma for
help. Then he made a great sacrifice. Out came from
the sacrificial fire an ugly creature at which the whole
world trembled. It soon changed into a sword lustrous
and sharp-edged. It was given to Rudra who single-
handed cut and pierced a mighty host of the Asuras.
After this Rudra gave this weapon to Visnu, who in his
turn presented it to Marici, from whom it successively
came into the hands of Vasava, the Lokapalas, Mami, his
son Iksvaku, and Pururuvas. Then it changed several
hands such as Nahusa, Yayati, Bharata, Raghu, Bhara-
dvaja, Drona, Krpa, and from this last to the Pandavas.
It had for its star the Krttika Naksatra. Its presiding
deity was Agni, the god of fire. It belonged to the
Rohini community and its first preceptor w.is Rudra
himself. Hence all soldiers were to worship this weapon
of weapons.
The Puranic literature knows of different varieties
of swords.®® Those which were manufactured in Khati
and Khattara were famous for their lustre, those of
Kaisika for power in felling, of Surparaka for dura-
bility, and of Vanga and Anga for sharpness. The
best swords were those which measured fifty fingers
in length. The rest were inferior. The inferior ones
must not be used. The test of a good sword was
that it must not only be sufficiently long but when
used in any way must produce a ring sound. The
sword that had an end like the edge of a lotus was
93 Agiti Purina, 245. 22-27. The Ldksana Prakisa gives extracts on
tiiis subject from two works, Lohfirnava and Khadgakofia, pp. 295-97.
118
WAH IN ANCIBNT INOU
an auspicious one. The sword was generally worn on
left side hanging from the belt, the scabbard being
meld in the left hand. The use of it consisted in rending,
cutting, lopping, and striking the enemy. The 3ukranUi
speaks of it as four hastas in measurement and of keen
edges. A sword was valuable for the acquisition of
wealth, kingdom, fame and the destruction of the enemy.
A sword was to be made of iron and was of the colour-of
the cuckoo’s neck. Its blade should be like the petal of a
lotus. It should be deep inside, bulging in the middle,
with keen edges and with no blot of any kind; natural
symbols were also said to be visible on it from which its
value could be determined. So whenever kings used it
they should get it previously examined as to its qualities.®*
There is a different kind of measurement given in
the texts. The best sword measured fifty inches, a
middling one forty inches, ifend the least good thirty-six
inches.®® , Those which were cracked, basket-like, and of
broken e^ges, perforated, devoid of handle, and crooked
were not fit for practical use. Those in which the Linga,
daruda, swan, and other auspicious and artistic images
could be seen were good. They were usually made of
Pandrara iron found in the Jangala country, black iron
in the Anupa, white iron in the Sataharana, gold-
coloured iron in the Kalinga, oily iron in the ETambhoja,
blue-coloured iron in Gujarat, grey-coloured in the
MaharSstra, and reddish white in the Karnataka.®* More
94 Agm PurdM, 251. 7.8; and 252 Ref.; ^ukra, 4-7-214.
95 The sword of fifty inches is named, according to Devfpur&m,
(see Ldksana Prakdsa, p. 299). See also Varahasamhita
for more details; Ibid., pp. 299 ff; Loharatnftkara, ibid., pp. 305 ff..
96 Sdmgadhara, 4621, 26, 38, 44, 52-60 and 4689. Siva
sai^.
WEAPONS OP WAB AS GATHERED PROM LITERATURE H9
details are seen in the same taranga. According to
Kautalya again, Nistrimsa, Madantagara, and Asiyasti
are swords and their handles were made of horn, tusk, or
wood. It is interesting to examine in this ligh4| the
several swords of Arjuna, such as the long sword with
the bee mark, a big sword finished with good blade and
a sheath of tiger skin, one with a golden hilt cased in
cow-skin, a gold sword manufactured by the Nisadhas
and cased in goat-skin, an iron sword with gold points,
all without any stain or knot in them.®^
SECTION V
MINOR AND MYSTICAL WEAPONS OP WARFARE
Any detailed examination of the other species
of weapons would unduly swell this volume; we there-
fore confine ourselves to a categorical enumeration
of the list as given in the Nitiprakasika. There are
two classes of the Muktamukta division — Sopasamhara
(throwing out) and Upasamhara (withdrawing). There
are forty-three varieties of Sopasamhara: Dandacakra
(a disc),®® Dharmacakra (a disc for maintenance of right-
eousness), Kalacakra (a disc of death), Aindracakra
(a disc attributed to Indra), Siilavata (a trident attri-
buted to Siva), Brahmasirsa (a missile assigned to
Brahma), Modaki (a bewitching missile), Sikhari (a
pointed missile to cut off the head), Dharraapa^a (a. noose
for maintenance of righteousness), Varunapasa (a noose
attributed to Varuna), Pinakastra (a bow attributed to
Siva), VSyavya (a missile of Vayu), Suska ( a missile to
97 , Mhh., Virfit Parva, 42. 21.
98 n. 22-27.
120
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
dry up), Ardra (a missile for drenching), Sikharastra
(a missile emitting flame), Krauncastra (a heron-like
missile), Hayasirasa (a missile in the form of a horse),
Vidyastra (a missile of incantatioh), Avidyastra (a
missile of illusory powers), Gandharvastra (a missile
attributed to Visnu), Nandanastra, Varsanam (a shower
producing missile), iSosanam (a missile attributed to
God of Love), Prasvapana (a missile causing deep
sleep), Prasamana (a soothing missile), Santapana
(a death-giving missile), Vilapana (a noisy missile),
Madana (a trust-giving missile), Manavastra (a missile
peculiar to Manu), Namana (a missile of air-force),
TSmasa (a missile engendering darkness), Samvarta (a
missile throwing a screen or a veil), Mausala (a club-
shaped missile), Satya (a celestial missile), Saura (a
missile attributed to the Sun God), Mayastra (an illusory
missile), Tvastra (a missile peculiar to Vi^vakarma),
Somastra (a missile peculiar to the Moon), Samhara (a
missile causing impediments), Manasa (a missile attri-
buted to Visnu), Nagastra (a serpent-shaped missile),
Garudastra (an eagle-shaped missile), and Saivesika (a
missile of stone).
The second class of this Muktamukta division, i.e.
TJpasamhara. contains a list of fifty-three different
weapons.®® These are Satyavan (perhaps a missile that
would act according to one’s wish), Satyakirti (a
missile probably famous in the Satyaloka), Rabhasa (a
missile of violent quickness), Drsta (a missile shaped
like the shaft of a carriage), Pratiharatara (a missile
for preventing an attack), Avangmukha (a missile with
its face turned downwards), Parangmukha (one with the
99 11.28-35.
WEAPONS OF WAR AS GATHERED FROM UTERATURE 121
shape of a leaf or a tree), Drthanabha (a navel-shaped
missile), Alafc^ya (a missile discharged with no aim),
Lak^ya (one discharged with some aim), Avila (one in
the shape of an ewe), Sunabhaka (one with a strong focus
at the centre), Dasak§a (one with ten cavities or open-
ings), Satavaktra (one with a hundred mouths), Dasa-'
slr§a (one with ten-headed missile), J^atodara (one with
hundred cavities), Dharmanabha (a navel-shaped missile
for maintaining righteousness), Mahanabha (one having
a big central point), Dundhunabha (one with the central
point like a drum), Nabhaka (one like the nave of a
wheel), Jyotisa (a lustrous missile), Vimalakula (a pure
missile), Nairasya (one engendering discouragement at
the outset), Kr^na (a small missile), Yogandhara (one
of superhuman powers), Sanidra (one attributed to
Indra), Daitya (one peculiar to the Asuras), Prama-
thana (a slaughtering missile), Sarcirmali (one in the
shape of a garland), Dhrtirmali (that could be seized or
laid hold of), Vrttiman (one that would move and turn),
Rucira (a restorative missile), Pitrya (one in shape like
the constellation Magha), Saumanasa (a floral missUe),
Vidhuta (an unsteady missile), Makara (one in the shape
of the crocodile), Karavira (a sword or scimitar),
Dhanarati (one giving wealth), Dhanya (one affording
grains), Kamarupaka (one that takes a shape at will),
Jrmbaka (a wide-mouthed missile), Avarana (one serv-
ing as a protection), Moha (one producing spell),
KAmaruci (one acting to one’s wish), Varuna (one
attributed to Varuna), Sarvadamana (the all-subduing
one), Sandhana (a well-aimed missile), Sarvanabhaka
(one like a serpent), Kankalastra (one with heron’s fea-
thers), Mausalastra (a pestle-like missile), Kapalastra
(a skull-like missile), Kankana (one resembling the
Du_16
WAR IN ANCMINT INDIA
as2
bracelet) and Paisaeastra (a devilish missile).^®®
This is a literal translation of the names which
occur in the texts. To the list here given, Vaisampayana
adds six more weapons which could be used only with the
application of mantras — ^the Visnucakra, the Vajra, (the
thimderbolt), the Brahmastra (attributed to Brahma),
the Kalapasaka (the noose of Yama), the Narayanastra
(attributed to Narayana), and the Pasupatastra (attri-
buted to Siva).
Visvamitra,^®^ to whom the Dhanurveda is attributed
seems to have had a working knowledge of most of these
weapons. Besides those mentioned above, Viisvamitra
adds the Tejahprabha (lustrous), the Sisira (frigid),
the Kinkini (Kankana) (with tinkling sound), and the
Daruna of Bhaga (a terror-striking missile). In the
second class of Upasamhara again Visvamitra adds
Sucirbahu, Mahabahu, Niskuli, and Viruci, having
respectively the characteristics of a good hand, a long
hand, a niska, an ornament and fire.
Among the thirty-two Mukta and Amukta weapons,
Kautalya, as we have seen, mentions the Sakti, the Prasa,
Kunta, Bhindipala, Tomara, bows and arrows, Parasu,
Pattisa, Cakra, Mudgara, Gada, and the J^ataghni. The
other nineteen are not mentioned. But he gives different
kinds of weapons, tlie Hataka, the Sfila, the Varaha-
karna (another form of Prasa), the Kanaya (a metallic
rod), the Karpana (an arrow that can go one hundred
hastas in length), the Trasika (a rod with three edges),
the Kuthara (a small one with one edge), the Khanitra
(a spade), the Kuddala and the Kahdacchedana, the
100 n. 28-35.
101 RdmSyma, B^lakanda, Chh. 27 and 28.
WEAPONS OF WAR AS GATHERED FROM LITERATURE 138
V
Yantrapa^a^ia (stones thrown by machines), the Go§pa-
papa^ana (stones thrown by rod), the Mustipasa^, the
Bocani, and stones, besides 27 kinds of movable and
immovable machines. Apparently the other weapons
mentioned in the NUiprakdsikd had gone out of use by
the time of Kautalya.^®^
The Arthasastra again mentions twenty-seven ma-
chines of which only five — the Musala, the Mudgara, the
Cakra, the Gada and the Sataghni — are refeiTed to by
Vaisampayana. Another important fact that we gather is
that in the time of Kautalya the forts must have become
indispensable sources of defence, military architecture
being highly developed. The ten immovable machines
mentioned by Kautalya are not found in the early
literature, from which it can be safely inferred that
fortifications had not developed to any great extent in
the days of the NUiprakdsikd. The immovable machines,
according to the author of the Arthasdstra^^^ are Sar-
vatobhadra (a small cart capable of hurling stones on
all sides), Jamadagnya (a large machine to shoot
arrows), Bahumukha (one with archers), Visvasaghati
(a cross beam at the gateway so placed as to make
it fall when the enemy enters), Sanghati (a long pole to
set fire to the fort), Yanaka (a rod momited on a wheel
to be hurled against enemies), Parjanyaka (a water-
machine to put out fire), Bahu (two pillars placed
opposite each other to be pulled down when enemies
enter) and Ardhabahu (a pillar measuring half of the
above). Again, the following movable machines are
given: P§nc§.lika (a wooden beam with sharp points
102 Ar. Bk. II. 18.
108 Thii.
124 WAR IN Ancient india
outside the fort wall), Devadanda (a pole with nails),
Sukarika (a leather wall to protect the roads, towns,
etc. against stones thrown by enemies), Yasti (a pointed
rod of khadira), Hastivaraka (a rod with two or three
points to prevent elephants from resting on), Talavrnta
(a form like that of disc), Sprktala (a rod with sharp
points on its surface), Kuddala (a spade), Sphatima (a
leather bag with a rod), Audaghatima (a machine to pull
down towers, etc.) and Trisula (a trident). There is
ample testimony to indicate that some of the machines
were employed in actual operations: the missile Tastra
was used by the son of king Satrujit against Patalaketu
and other demon warriors.^®* In the battle between Salva
Baja and Bhisma both Varuna and Aindra weapons
were used.^®® Again, Arjuna used the Vayavya weapon
in his encoimter with the Nagas, and it had the power
of staying thimder, lightning, winds, and several other
forces.^®* He also used Salila and Saila weapons to
ward off illusions of fire and wind from the Mvata-
kavacas.^ Drona used the Aindra, Vayavya and Agneya
astras during the Great War,^®® while his son employed
Narayanastra in another encounter.^®® The other weapons
used by Arjuna are the Naga missile, the Saupada, the
Indrajala, Sthulakarna, the Pasupata, and the Bhar-
gava.“® Arjuna also used the Mahendra mentioned as a
KM Markcmdeya, 20.
105 Mhb., Adi Parva, 109, 49-51.
106 Ibid., 129.
107 MKb., Van^ Parva, 173. 10.
108 Ibid., VirRt Parva, 60. 75:
109 Ibid., Dro^a Parva, 200. 17, i
110 See Sorensen’s Index to the Mcdidbhdrata under article
Axjnna.
W£Iia>ONS OF WAR AS OATBERFD FROM lATBBATURS 125
^fire-arm in the great epic literature. Rama employed,
besides the above, the Brahmadatta bajga.^“ In the
engagement between Laksmaua and Atikaya, the latter
used the Rudra and the Narayana missiles, while the
former used the Brahmaaras.”® In the battle between
Angada and the Rak§asa Kampana, several missiles;
like the Ksuras, Ksurapras, Vatsadantas, Silimukhas,
Karnicalyas, and Vipathas are found used.^^®
Lastly, the Jrmbha missile is mentioned in the
U ttararamaoarita.
That the use of fortresses became more and more
important is well seen from the latest publication of
King Bhoja’s Samarangmiisutmdhara, which is assigned
to the 11th century A.D. In it are mentioned the
door-keeper machine and the warrior machine at the
gateway to prevent undesirables from entering the
city. Then there were other kinds of machines with
arrows and other weapons for the protection of the
fort, besides the water machines for letting down
waters in torrents and the one for catching elephants,
etc. Thus most of the machines refer to siege warfare
in general, a sign that the use of fortresses was very
common.^^* Here again the sword, the Prasa, the Kunta
the Sataghni, are mentioned.
From these it appears that the skilled work of
military engineering, such as road-making, bridge-
making, and digging of tanks and of sappers and miners,
was well known.
111 Tuddha, 111. 4.
112 Ihid„ 71. 67-110.
116 Ihid., 76. 6.
114 SamarSng, Ch. 31, 106-16.
126
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
SECTION VI
ON ARMOUR
The questions relating to the kind of armour and the
mode of wearing them are indeed of lively interest and
have a direct bearing on the arms used. We know that
even in the days of the ;^g Veda the equipment of the
soldier consisted of a coat of mail, helmet, and even
an arm-guard.
Varupa is mentioned as wearing a golden mail with
lustrous appearance and as surrounded by spies."® That
several varieties of armour were made of horns, skins,
and also of iron, is evident from the Arthasdstra litera-
ture. The animals whose horns were used for this were
tortoise, rhinoceros, bison, elephant, and cow'i,
The four important varieties of armour, all of iron
according to the commentator of the Arthasdstra, were in
the first place a coat of mail to cover the body from head
to foot including the two hands, secondly a coat of mail
of two separate plates covering the head, hump, and arms
respectively, and thirdly, a kind of armour to be worn as
a loin-cloth."®
Other varieties of armour used merely for protect-
ing the body were Sirastrana or protection for the head,
Kanthatrana or protection for the neck, Kimpasa or a
covering for the trunk, Kancuka or a jacket up to the
knee joints, Vfiravana or a jacket extending to the heels,
Patta or an upper garment, and Nagodarka or gloves to
protect the fingers. Some of the instruments used to
shield one’s hands in engagements were Pethi (a kind of
115 ^ Vtda, I. 25. 13.
116 Ar. 6dB., 13 (Ccnuneutary by Chmapati Saatri). ■
WBAPONS OF WAR AS OATHERED FROM LITERATURE 127
shield made of creepers of Kasta), Carma, otherwise
known as Resumendaka (made of leather, perhaps to
lirotect the palm of the hand), Talamula (another
variety of shield made of wood perhaps palmyra),
Bhamanika (a shield made of reed), Kavata (a shield
resembling the panel of a door), Kitika (a protectioli
made of hide or bamboo), Apratihata (perhaps a shield
used in elephant fights) and Valahakanta (one of
leather or bamboo like the Apratihata but surrounded
by iron fringes). The war elephants as well as the war
horses were also provided with trappings and ornaments
to shield them from the attacks of the enemy’s forces.
The ^ukraniti speaks of a coat of mail for the body and
the trunk as well as for fingers. For the former, big
leaves resembling wheat leaves, made of iron, were
considered best, whilst for the latter iron nails with
sharp edges were considered the best.^^’ The skins,
horns, and iron were used abundantly for the making
of shields and the coats of mail are obvious from the
sculptures which we shall presently examine. But the
author of Sukraniti mentions the use of leather armour
for war animals.^^®
It is needless to mention that there is a close link
between the Arthasdstra literature and the epic and
Puranic literature. The Asuras or the demon warriors
put on armour made of the skins of elephants, antelopes,
and barks of some trees.”® It is said that during the
fight between the king of Virata and Siisarma, all the
soldiers put on their respective coats of mail. Virata’s
117 Ihid.
118 too, 4.7.216-17.
119 Harivam., 31.
1S8
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
brother Satamka wore one of adamant, and omanlented
with gold, whilst his jsldest son Sankarsana had a coat of
weU-tempered iron.^®° Again, the great warrior Krpa’s
mail armour was of tiger-skin.^^ In the MaMbharata
war all had finger-guards and put on coats of mail
made of the skin of the antelopes and other animals.^*
And Duryodhana had a helmet formidable to look
at.“® The soldiers had also bracelets made of buU’s
hide.“* Jayadratha, the great king and warrior, wore
a plate of gold which was broken into two pieces
by .Saubhadra’s sword.^^® When Bharata came to
meet his brother Rama, Guha, the lord of the
Niisadhas took him for an enemy and asked his
followers to be ready for an attack with their mail
accoutrements.^
It would be interesting to close this section with the
^remark that with the progress in metal culture and
advance in civilisation, effective methods of warfare were
also developed. If we go far back in time, we find that the
primitive tribes used weapons made of stone and wood.
We find in the Rdmdyana that the monkey tribes, which
maybe considered one of the most ancient tribes in India,
used trees and stones as implements. The civilized man
just emanating from the life of a hunter used bows and
arrows in war. Stones and stone weapons were in use
120 VirSt Parva, ch. 33.
121 Ibid., 54.
122 Bhlsina Parva, chh. 16 & 18.
123 Ibid., 64.
124 Ibid., 88.
125 Drona Parva, 43.17.
126 Ram., AyodhyB., eh. 84.
WSAPONS OF WAR AS OATHERBD FROM LITBRATURE 129
continuously for thousands of years. Then bronze came
into large use, and gave an advantage in warfare to
those tribes who first obtained it.^^ In the Chalcolithic
period as borne out by the numerous archaeological
finds in the Indus valley, and much earlier, as is seen in
the epoch of the Rg Vedic Samhita, copper and bronze
had come to supersede stone. Though there was a large
use of bronze for purposes of making implements of war,
stone weapons continued to be used.
The epoch which followed the Chalcolithic period
of India’s history witnessed the introduction of iron.
This was the age of the Yajur Veda Samliita where
distinct mention is made of the use of iron and iron
weapons. Arms and armour of this metal now came
to be used, for, it was found more valuable than even
bronze. Gold and silver were also pressed into service
because of their plastic and ornamental possibilities.
These metals came to be used for the making of
arrows as well as for shields and other effective
weapons of defence. This state practically continued
to flourish until the days of Alexander the Great and of
Megasthenes, the ambassador of Seleukos. For the
Fragments of Megasthenes testify to their use in
abundance. Javelins made of simple bamboo and sago
palm quite innocent of iron, remnants of which still
linger among some of the hill tribes of India, have been
superseded by iron swords and the throwing spear.
These swords were straight in shape and two-handed,
in use at the time of Alexander’s invasion of India and
popular later in the Malay Archipelago, as evident from
bas-reliefs of Angkor-Wat in Cambodia.
127 H. G. Wells: The Outline of History, pp. 109-110.
D— 17
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
180 ^
1-
SECTION vn
AIJMS AND AEMOUR FROM SCULPTURE
It is nearly forty years since Baden Powell wrote
as follows in the Journal of Indian Art and Industry
•(Vol. I) : “It will be interesting when, some day, some
antiquarian^^ is found to reproduce the various ancient
forms of weapons as they appear in the sculpture/’ Here
an humble endeavour is made to study as far as possible
some of the interesting sculptures relating to ancient
arms and armour which disclose many peculiarities of
ancient warfare and thus possess great historical value.
Much spade work has been done here by Edgerton and
Birdwood whose observations are found in their respec-
tive publications. The Illustrated Arms of India and
The Industrial Arts of India, and also by Bhattacharya
and Gopinatha Rao, so far as iconography is concerned.
There are also other interesting works like those of
Burgess, Cunningham, Havell, Pergusson, and Smith,
most of which have also been laid under contribution.
128 There is not yet a single publication in India on the lines
/of Prof. A. Parmentier’s ‘ Album Historique ’ published in four
volumes under the direction of Ernest Louisse of the French
Academy (LibrariS Armand Colin, Paris, 1905). It is a study of
the habits and customs, of arts and sciences, of weapons and
ornaments, and of institutions of the age from the 4th to the 19th
century A.D. For our purpose the attention of the reader can be
directed to soldiers and cavalry warriors of Gaul clad in military
attire on p. 2 of Volume I and of their different arms (Vol. I,
pp. 4-5), and of the French military costume and implements (Vol. I,
pp. 91 and 99), of the mediaeval customs of the 7th to the 15th
century A.D. (p. 137) and of the battle scenes of England
(pp. 172-73; see also pp. 196 ff.). This helps the comparative
ptndent of military history of the East to study Western institutions.
WEAPONS OP WAR AS GATHERED PROM UTERATXJRB 181
A careful study of the various types of sculptures
found in various parts of India from far-ofE Gandhara
to South Indian temples, is invaluable to a stu-
dent of Hindu military History. Cunhingham’® says:
‘ With regard to the use of sculptures, although no
certain examples now remain of an earlier date thail
the time of A^ka, yet I can point to the state-
ment of Curtis that an image of Hercules was carried
in front of the army of Porus as he advanced against
Alexander. This worship of Hercules is also mentioned
by Strabo on the authority of Megasthenes as prevail-
ing in the plain country while the people of the hill
worshipped Bacchus. But from the post-Asokan period
we find a rich and wonderful development of this
great art. It may be that during the comparatively
brief interval of peace during Asoka’s reign that the
manufacturers of weapon and other war-aims as well
as the artisans took to this important work, much of it
being absorbed by the State. The devout followers of
Buddhism took great interest in getting the various
Buddhist shrines ornamented and painted. The result
yras good and striking reliefs in the place of frescoes.
‘ These circumstances explain says E. B. Havell, * the
peculiar characteristics of the Bh^hut, Sanchi and
Amaravati sculptures
Among the earliest sculptures known so far are
those at Bharhut.^®^ Here in the stupa are foimd
boats, chariots drawn by horses, carriages drawn by
129 Coins of Ancient India (Preface).
130 Indian Sculpture and Painting, p. 92.
131 V. A. Smith: A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon,
p. 30.
WAll IN ANCIENT INEIA
bullocks, many musical instruments, and flags. Here
again we notice the old Indian broadsword as described
by Megasthehes. ‘ All wear swords of vast breadth,
though scarce exceeding three cubits in length. When
they engage in close fight they grasp these with both
their hands so that the blow may be the stronger
Another interesting feature is a procession of
maskers and soldiers. The men are of the Himalayan
region, wearing dress and armour apparently made of
leather used in that region in the time of Kaniska about
100.A.D. The arrangement of the scales of the armour
with the curved ends uppermost, bears resemblance to
similar discoveries by Stein in Khotan.^®^ We owe
much to Cunningham and Fergusson for a critical
study of the sculptures of Sanchi and other places.
There is a vivid representation of the operations of a
siege in one of the reliefs.^®^ The equipment of the
soldiers is a tight-fitting dress and quilt. All have their
swords hung on their left side. Apparently the swords
1 are short, but very broad ; bows and arrows are invariably
;;found in the hands of the foot-soldiers. There are eleven
topes in Sanchi; and proceeding further we see that
every pillar in every tope has some historical incident
or other that is full of interest to us. Sieges and
triumphal processions may be said to be a regular
feature of the whole.
The most striking is the remarkable study of a
besieged city in Tope No. 1. Soldiers attacking the
enemy down with arrows and huge stones below are
* found on the gateway and also on the great towers. Here
132 M. Aurel Stein: Ancient Khotan, Vol. I, p. 252.
183 Sdgerton : InAkin end Oriental Artnour, jw’ i
' - I ■ 4
imAJ>0N8 OF WAH AO OATHSRED FROM L.1TERATURB iSb
we find no swords of any description.^®* But that they
were none the less used by the warriors is obvious from
the fact that several of them have long shields. On the
left side are seen two men carrying ensigns, a number of
elephants with riders, and also one man riding on a
horse. We also notice distinctly enough the quiver which
is fastened to the right shoulder, and also the fastenings,
which are apparently leather straps, are passed over the
shoulders, crossed in front, and carried to the back. The
dress is a kilt and also a jacket of some kind. According
to Cunningham their dress on the whole resembles
that of the Scottish Highlanders. Their principal
weapon used in this siege-fight seems to be the arrow.
‘ Their (Mauryan) arrows are little less than three
cubits long and fly with such force that neither shield
nor breast-plate nor any armour is strong enough to
withstand them But in the bas-relief some arrows
seem to be even four or five feet long. It is also seen
that some warriors have darts in the place of arrows.
An idea of the different kinds and shapes of weapons
used in the first century A.D. may be obtained by an
examination of Plate xxxiii*®° relating to Sanchi sculp-
tures in general. Here are found swords, shields,*®® two
kinds of axes, trident, javelins, Vajra, dagger, elephant-
goad, bells, flags, fly-whisk, two or three kinds of drums,
umbrellas, etc. Comparing them with those of TJdayagiri
(A.D. 401) we may conclude that there are material
134 Cunningham: The Bhilsa Topes, ch. XIV.
135 Op. Cit., The Bhilsa Topes, (the last plate in the book).
136 In the Eodt paintings of the Mahadeo Hills we meet with
warriors with sword and shield. (Indian Art and Letters X.
pp. 8541, plat^i^nil and IX).
134
WAR IN ANCtEiNT INDU
differences between tiie weapons used then and here
especially with regard to swords and the Vajra.
From this it can be inferred that there has been a
slow but sure evolution in the form and make of weapons
with the march of time. In the art of war it was not
one of stagnation but real progress; again, in the same
Plate we study two kinds of shields, one smaller than
the other. The latter are worn by foot soldiers, and the
former by horsemen.
At Sanchi, again, there is a representation of the
War of Relics.^®’ Here it is remarked that the
Lichchavis, the Sakyas, the Balis, the Kolyas, the Mallas
of Pava and a Brahman advance against Kusinara to
recapture the relics of Buddha from the Mallas of
Kusinara. In the middle of the Plate the siege of the
town, and to the left the departure of the victors are
illustrated.
On a pillar in the Amaravati tope, decidedly later
than those of Sanchi, we notice a straight sword, long
spears and long bows with horsemen and elephants. But
there are no chariots here. This does not mean that the
chariots had fallen into disuse. More or less the same
kind of swords, oblong shields, long bows are also
noticed in the Hill Caves of Orissa, evidently before the
fifth or sixth century A.D.“® In the more ancient sculp-
tures of the temples of Bhuvanesvara we meet with
processiens of infantry, cavalry, and elephants. There
are heroic warriors elegantly sculptured. A small
dagger hangs from the waist belt of every one of them.
137 See LudMrig Bachhofer: ^arly Indian Sculpture, Vol. I,
plate 47.
138 Hunter : OrfsAa, I, p. 235. .
WEAPONS or WAR AS GATHERED FROM LITERATURE 135
In another frieze there is a little scene of war horses
with heroes on them. Behind these are foot soldiers
apparently in marching order equipped with bows and
swords. The bow is long and the sword is straight.
Further behind them follow the commissariat. Lastly
come other soldiers, with straight swords and oblong
shields evidently made of hide. On the other side is
seen the army council where councillors are engaged in
deep deliberation. We also see an order of priests
doing the necessary ceremonials to bless them with
victory.
Let us now turn to the temple at Kanarak, of
which there is an excellent plate (Plate XLIII)'®*
in Ha veil’s book. Outside the southern facade are
represented two huge horses apparently guarding the
gate, the one intact and the other in ruins. This is a
war-horse with a Roman nose and prominent eyes. He
is very richly caparisoned with bosses and bands round
the face, heavy chain-armour on the neck, tasselled
necklaces, jewelled bracelets on all four legs and a
tasselled breast-band which keeps the saddle in position.
There is also .a sheath capable of holding a small dagger
and a quiver with tethered arrows. The horse is
trampling under his foot two soldiers who wear short
and curved swords. They have not the necessary equip-
ment for defence. But there are seen circular shields
besides a number of musical instioiraents, apparently
resembling modem ones, such as cymbals, the small
drum, the guitar, etc. These seem to belong to the
middle ages. It is interesting to read Havell’s remarks
on this scene : ‘ Here Indiap sculptors Tiave shown that
139 Havell : Indian Sadptxtre and Painting, p, 147.
186 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
they can express with as much fire and passion as the
greatest European art the pride of victory and the glory
of triumphant warfare: for not even the Homeric
grandeur of the Elgin marbles surpasses the magnificent
movement and modelling of this Indian Achilles and
the monumental war-horse in its massive strength and
vigour is not unworthy of comparison with Verachio’s
famous masterpiece at Venice \
We have in Kanarak, again, a war horse led by a
warrior and trampling an Asura, though it is assigned
to the 13th century A.D.^*° Others worth mentioning
are an elephant lifting an Asura and a gryphon trampling
and goring Asuras.^"
Further, we have a number of tableaux on the upper
verandah of the Queen’s monastery Hunter is of
opinion that it may be dated 200 B.C. Here is splendidly
represented a battle between a prince and a princess.
The princess is defeated and is carried away forcibly.
We find only the shield and not the sword in her hand.
Apparently the latter was lost in the conflict. The
sword of the prince is unsheathed. Again, in the
Ganesh cave high up the hill, there is another series of
tableaux giving the same story with slight variations.
When the prince is running with her on an elephant he
is pursued by a number of soldiers. The use of the bow
by a number of soldiers is seen in the hunting scene. In
these sculptures we have the representation of a woman-
warrior wearing a sword and a shield and capable of
resisting a trained prince. These cases of women fighting
140 See Coomaraswami : ViSvakarma, 1914, PI. LXXVI.
141 im., LXXVII and LXXIX.
142 Hunter: Orissa, I.
WBAPONS OF WAB AS GATHERED FROM LITERATURE 1S7
in the field are indeed very rare and hence remarkable.
THE AJANTA CAVES
No study of Indian art would be complete
without some reference at least to the Ajanta Cave
paintings.^*® The weapons in these are without any
exception very primitive ones. In Plates vii and xxvi
are seen representations of a curved dagger held point
upwards and perhaps in the left hand so as to leave
the right hand free. Plate viii probably refers to the
return of a party from a hunt. The scimitar is
placed on the right shoulder. But there is no scabbard.
Then we see a peculiar kind of shield which looks as if
it were a segment of a wheel with the spokes left out. It
may be the round kind of shield with grotesque forms of
tufts or tassels round the fringes thrown over behind
the shoulder with straps and buckles. There is also
a quiver for holding arrows which is slung on the back
of a foot-soldier, marching with a horse-rider. But
curiously no bows are seen.
In Plate xix are noticed long lances with diamond-
shaped blades and streamers flying from them in the
air. In Plates xxi and xxxviii are found spears. In
the former, apparently an elephant-catching scene, is
a curious kind of spear sharpened at the edge, about
eight feet long and furnished with three rings at the top.
The blade is almost one foot long. The latter seems to
illustrate the scenes from the Visvatantra Jataka. Here
the soldier wears a sharp thrusting spear with heavy
knobs cleanly reprefcented beside the horses. In Plate xxiii
is a highly ornamented sword with a strong hilt and also
143 The Ajanta Frescoes — India Society.
Du-lS
188
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
a cross-bar. There are ornamental knobs along the
scabbard. In Plate xxvii is a short dagger wbm at
the waist used by hill tribes in West India even to-day.
A short but stout club is carried on the right shoulder,
used as a weapon of war in early days. Besides there
is the ordinary simple type of bow with one piece.
Plates xxiv and xxxvii are vivid representations of
chariots. In the former are seen ladies also seated.
It appears to be the one on which the king accompanied
the army on its onward march to battle. The decorated
paintings leave nothing to be desired. The battle-axes
with long handles and about four feet in length each, are
seen worn on the right shoulder in Plate xxxvi. The
Bodhisattva himself is given a kukri, a survival of the
ancient sword with a sharp concave edge used by the
Gurkhas of to-day.
Plates xvii and Ivii afford deep interest. The motif
in both seem to be the same and indicate the battle
scene of Vijaya’s conquest of Ceylon with war-elephants,
horses, and archers all carried in curricles. Two of these
curricles carry eight or nine mounted horses and two or
three war elephants. The Plates are indicative of the
picturesque appearance of an army on the march. Almost
every variety of weapons can be found here. The curricles
are embellished with dragon-heads and the like. The
soldiers carry standards flying from the sharp ends of
I their lances. Umbrellas and camaras or fly-whisks and
I instruments of martial music, which are a unique feature
■of ancient warfare, are also vividly represented. Here
two cakras or discs with sharp edges on the outside and a
* voided cross ’ in the centre are shown as evidently
dischargd^ and warded off by the enemy’s lances.
Scimitars'like the chopper or the bill, both straight and
WEAPONS OF WAB AS OATHERED £BOM UTEBATURB 139
of the primitive kind, are common. Shields both crescent
and oblong are seen, handsomely curved in the longer
dimension apparently made of leather. There are two
bows of the classic double-curved variety. Both square
and round quivers are also noticed.^^
The dress of the soldiers, it appears, was made in.
two pieces, viz. from the breast to the waist and again
from the thigh to the soles. The chief musical instru-
\ ments were the drum and the kettle-drum. In the pic-
tures the troops are crossing a broad river and from the
bank the enemies attack them. Possibly the soldiers
attack from the water. Both horses and elephants are
provided with excellent omamental trappings. A bell is
seen hanging from the elephant’s back. The war-horses
have the prominent Roman nose, piercing eyes, and
a gallant appearance. The trappings resemble those
of the present day. The one peculiarity is that no
stirrups are seen in any of the pictures. The usual
war accoutrements of the elephant and the elephant
goad, like the modern one, are easily traced. Plate Iv
shows two kinds of helmets: pot-shaped ones, and skull
caps, made of leather or iron richly ornamented. Again
in Cave there is a peculiar kind of buckler orna-
mented with various designs and motifs and triangular
in shape. The writer in the Journal of Indian Art
remarks: ‘ the langure de hoeuf or cross-hilted katar,
which is supposed by some to be a peculiarly ancient
weapon, nowhere appears ’. But a careful examination
of Plate xxiii”® seems clearly to indicate the existence
144 The Ajanta Frescees — India Society.
145 JourwA of Indian Art, Vol. VIII.
146 Afanta Frescoes.
140
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
of such a cross-hilted sword in the Ajanta paint-
ings. In Fig. 25 (B) of the Journal the Vajra or
thunderbolt is also shown.^*’ The Ajanta paintings, now
somewhat mutilated, are valuable for their reference to
the political relations that existed between India and
Persia in 625-26 A.D. Here the Persian envoys present
Pulake^ with valuable presents sent by their king.
This is an unmistakable reference to the friendly rela-
tions that existed between the two States.^®
THE GANDHARA sculptures
The Gandhara sculptures may next be examined.
Burgess identifies a figure holding Vajra or the thunder-
bolt, its form not apparently primitive, with that
of Mara the tempter. Others identify it with Vajra-
pani, the Bodhisattva, and Indra. There is, again, a
figure in the Lahore Museum representing two soldiers,
of which there is a Plate in the Journal of Indian Art
and Industry}^'* Both are meagrely draped. They wear
only loin-cloths. The knees and feet are left imcovered.
In the one we notice a belt round the waist, a sheath
with a sword the hilt of which is held in the left hand.
On the back of the other soldier is seen a shield of
almost oblong shape and also a sort of oval disc. But the
face of this one is much mutilated. We noticed the part
played by elephants in the Ajanta frescoes. There is
• a fi^re in the Mokalji’s temple.^®® at Chitore represent-
ing an elephant pitted against another— a story often
147 Journal of Indian Art, Vol. VIII.
148 Smith: Oxford History of Ind,ia, p. 165.
149 VoL VIII, Plate 10, Fig. 6. Burgess on the Gfindhflra
Scolptores:
150 Smith: A History of Fine Art, p. 127. > ^
WBAPONS OF WAR AS GATHeRRD FROM lATBRATUBJ: 141
mentioned in literature. In the course of her observa-
tions on the Gandhara sculptures and early coins from
Alexander’s time, Mrs. F. H. Andrews remarks: ‘ It is
in architectural, sculptural and mural decoration in
India that the elephant is seen at its best
In South India there are numerous interesting and
iastructive sculptures, a systematic study of which would
cover a large volume. Here an attempt is made to exa-
mine only a few of them to illustrate the Pallava, Chola
and Vijayanagar art. Vivid representations of Pallava
art are seen in Mahabalipuram (Chingleput District).
There is fire and passion in the wonderful representation
of Durga slaying Mahisasura.^® There is another
relief exhibiting Arjuna’s penance to get possession of
the magic weapon by which any powerful enemy could
be easily humbled. The story is found in the Mahd-
hhdrata}^
In the Chola period, there is also a wonderful
representation of a battle between a general riding on an
elephant and his adversary on horseback.^®* This is on
the Begur stone dated about A.D. 934-38, in the Mysore
territory, now in the Bangalore Museum. There is
another bas-relief sculpture in the same Museum found
in the Atakur stone dated about A.D. 949-50 representing
a fight between a big hound and a mighty boar in which
both are being killed by each other.
A beautiful sculptural representation of Butuga
slaying the Chola Rajaditya by stabbing him with a
151 Journal of Indian Art, Vol. X.
152 Viivakarma, PI. XLV; Smith: Op. Cit., PL 87.
153 The Indian Ant. a special number on Mamallapuram.
.. 154 Smith : A History of Fine Art, p. 134.
143
WAB IN ANCIENT INDU
dagger, short but with a broad and curved blade of fine
steel/®® is noticed in a plate ia Epigraphia Ca/maiica
copied in Pura in the Mandya Taluk and of the date Saka
1339.^®® Here one notices the high wavy sword with
sharp points. There is another kind of sword resembling
a flexible hand, sometimes used as a belt apparently of
leatilier. The weapon in No. 2 seems to be more rigid.
Nos. 4 and 5 are copied from Varuna in the Mysore Taluk
and are much earlier than the above, probably 960 A.D.
Here the retainers are seen armed with cutlasses. There
in the Middle Ages was a peculiar practice in South
India of erecting Viragals or memorial stones. Such
memorial stones are even now found in great numbers
in Southern India.
Perhaps the most vivid and lively representations of
Vijayanagar art are those in the two temples at Tadpatri,
Anantapur District — the Ramesvaram temple dedicated
to Siva, and the Cintatraya temple to Visnu. On the
northern side of the Ramesvaram temple on the banks of
the Pinakini river, the Gopura is left unfinished from the
middle. Here in the bas-relief on both sides of the two
walls are seen demon soldiers, besides others wearing
altogether different costumes. About a hundred varieties
of dress are noticed here. In the other temple a furlong
to the south, there is a remarkable representation of
the whole story of the Rajma/yana and also certain
portions of the Bhdga/vata finely sculptured. The reliefs
are full of life and movement and exhibit fire and
passion throughout. Except one or two figures the rest,
several hundreds, are beautiful and present a freshness
165 Bf. Car,, HI, No. 41. (Ma^dyS’)*
156 Ibid., Part i, p. 84. ,
WliAPONS 07 WAB AS GATHBRED FROM lATEatATDBB 143
i all their own. Chariots, war-horses, elephants, soldiers
in battle array, actual operations in the held, aU these
afford remarkable subjects for study.
Such a variety of design and beauty is notic^ in
a bas-relief of scenes from the Bdmdyana representing
the conquest of Ceylon and all the varied incidents of
that Epic in the Hoysalesvara temple, Halebid, and the
Hazara Bamasvami temple at Hampi.^®^ It is worth
noting that weapons of war like the axe, the knife and
the dagger, are seen depicted on the Viragals of this
period.^®®
Dr. Oppert refers to half a dozen temples in
South India to prove the use of fire-arms in ancient
India. ^®® The Palni temple in the Madura District
contains on the outer portion in an ancient stone
mantapa scenes of carved figures of soldiers carrying in
their hands small fire-arms, apparently the small-sized
guns mentioned in the Sukranitisdra. Bells are seen
hanging from the belts worn round the waists of the
soldiers. They wear slippers for their feet and a peculiar
kind of cap on their heads. Again in the Samgapani
temple at Kumbakonam in the front gate^®® of the fifth
story from the top is the figure of a king sitting in a
chariot drawn by horses and surrounded by a number of
soldiers. Before this chariot march two sepoys with
pistols in their hands. In the Nurrukkal mantapam of the
Conjeevaram temple is a huge pillar on the north side of
the mantapa. Here there is a relief vividly representing
a fight between two bodies of soldiers. Mounted horsemen
157 Smith: Op. Cit., Plates 84 and 91.
158 Ep. Car., HI, p. 34.
159 Dr. Oppert: Weapons, etc. of the Hindus.
160 The gopuram, it may be noted, belongs to the 18th century.
144
WAR IN ANaENT INDIA
are also seen. The foot-soldier is shown aiming his fire-
arm against the enemy. Such things are also noticed
in the Tanjore temple and the temple at Perur, in the
Coimbatore District. In the latter there is an actual
representation of a soldier loading a musket. To this
last Fergusson assigns the eighteenth century A.D. But
Dr. Oppert puts it very much earlier.
From these sculptures in India it is interesting
to turn to Java where the Indian tradition is copied
wholesale. The Borobudur sculptures illustrate Jataka
scenes. They are ascribed roughly to the eleventh
century A.D. There is a striking relief series PI. I,
fig. representing a battle in which two others
are seen on each side, one wearing a curved sword in
the right hand and a long shield, and the other a mace
and a round shield resembling a wheel, all apparently
made of iron. The story of the Ramdyana is also given,
as in the Tadpatri temple from Rama’s going to the
forest down to the kiUing of Ravana. There is also a
wonderful sculpture of an ancient Hindu ship.^®^
In the temple of Ankhor Vat, in Cambodia, the
EAmbojas who colonised it about the fourth century
AJ>. kept up the traditions of the Kashmir schools. The
motifs in the various reliefs are stories and battle scenes
as described in the Bdmdyana and the Mahdbhdrata}^
These are described in minute detail and with wonderful
vigour. Perhaps they follow the technicalities of the
Amaiavati sculptures. Magic plays a prominent part
in these reliefs. Indrajit showing the magical head of
’^160a Vol. I, Plate V (N. J, Krom and T. Van Brp).
161 Ibid.
192 Havdl: Indian Sculpture and PamUng, p. 137.
WEAPONS or WAR AS OATHBRED FROM UTBBATDRO 146
Bfima to Sits, and slaying the MayS. Sita before Bama
are life-like. There are two figures of the heads of
Blmnasena in Central Java. The heroic splendour and
manly grace of the bom fighter are wonderfully depicted.
Havell aptly remarks : ‘ We recognise a young Alexander,
a fighter who knows his own strength and revels in it.
All his desires and aims are human yet there is nothing
low or bmtal in his nature. He is a great natural hero
and war-lord fit to lead and command a noble free-bom
race. To compare these with the head of the Buddha
i^ows how far the artistic skill has advanced in Java and
therefore in India. This figure has a lovely appearance,
the portrait type of all that is pure, spiritual and holy
in Indian thought and religion ’. Again, in Ankhor
Vat we find in a bas-relief straight two-handed iron
swords worn by foot-soldiers. Students conversant with
Alexander’s invasion of India know that these were
in use in India in the fourth century B.C. We may add
that this weapon was used as a sword of state by the
kings of Siam. It justifies Buskin’s words : ‘ Whole eras
of mighty history are summed and the patience of dead
myriads are concentrated in the existence of a noble
(national) art. ■
ICONOGRAPHY
In this connexion a word may be said about Indian
Iconography which affords adequate material for the
study of the forms and the uses of several weapons cur-
rent in Ancient India and is therefore of great interest
and significance. A detailed study of the different images
has been made by Gopinatha Rao and Bhattacharya.
163 Ibid., Plates 41 and 42.
D— 19
146
WAR IN ANaSMT INDIA
We are concerned here only with the arms and armour
worn and the symbols they stand for. We may take
some prominent images and examine them briefly.
Though the several hymns in the Rg Veda bear
eloquent testimony to the existence of image worship,
it tecame highly popular only during the epoch of the
Puranas. Besides Skanda several other war-gods and
goddesses waged wars against demons Asuras and
Raksasas. In this category come Visnu, Surya, Gane^,
Siva, and several goddesses of whom Durga is the most
prominent. Abbe Dubois^®* speaks of thirty-two gods to
each of whom one weapon or another is peculiar. Visnu
is popularly addressed as Sankha-eakra-gada-pani, that
is, having Sankha or conch, Cakra or disc, and Gada or
wooden mace in three of his four hands. In another
verse the Samgi and thd Nandaki (bow and sword) are
also attributed to him. By blowing the conch he strikes
terror into the enemy. The Cakra attributed to Visnu
is of two different forms, as is seen in the sculptured
images.^*® The spokes of one are like the wheels of the
ordinary car, whOe those of the other resemble the petals
of a lotus. The Cakra belongs to the category of a
missile. According to Vamanapuram}^ as well as the
sculptured figure, the Cakra has lustrous and sharp
edges. The gada is the wooden mace or heavy staff with
a tapering top and a stout bottom. The Sdranga or the
bow of Visnu has a single bend, three bends, and five
bends respectively, showing a perceptible evolution of
the form of the weapon.^®^ Nandaki is the name of the
“164 Hindu Manners^, Customs and Ceremonies, p. 689,
165' Gopinatha Rao : Hindu Iconography, Vol. I, ATUdhapnro^as.
166 Ch. 79.
167 Gbpinatha Rao: Op. oit.
WSAPONS OF WAft AS OATHBRBD FlEU»C LlTEHATURS 147
sword attributed to .Vi^u. Though the VaraJuir
purd/m^*^ gives an allegorical interpretation of it (i.e.
that the conch stands for the destruction of avidya. or
ignorance, the sword for dispelling ignorance, the disc
for the circles of time, the club for routing irreligious
monarchs), yet the fact remains that such weapons
were in common use in this land.
Again, the conception of the sun-god in Indian
mythology is of value to the student of ancient Indian
milijtary history. The idea is that the sun-god wants
to destroy darkness. Therefore he dons a lustrous
armour and with his two queens behind, starts marching
in his swift flying chariot drawn by seven powerful
steeds, Aruna (dawn) being his charioteer. In front
of the car march two soldiers, one with a sword and
the other with a sula or trident, a kind of spear
with three keen edges. The piercing rays of the sun
are the shooting arrows. Such a grand conception
is well represented in stone in the Sun Temple at
Ennarak, of which there are two excellent plates in
the published work of Lord Bonaldshay.^®® The first
plate shows the sun-god with his accoutrements in a
standing posture, while the second is a representation
of the chariot with huge stone wheels all carved and
ornamented. Though sun temples are rarely found,
the sun-god is still worshipped in India with great
veneration as the deity capable of bestowing on mankind
both health and wealth. Thus the whole thing presents a
life-like portrait of the military dress as well as the
168 See Vedinta BeSika’s So^nsdyudhastotra where the allegorical
interpretations are developed.
169 A Birds-eye-view of India, Platea 1 and 21.
14S WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
march against an enemy. Siva is represented in various
aspects, as holder of the Pinaka or the bow, of the
Khatvanga or the heavy cluh, as Mrgadhara or wearer
of a shield of antelope-skin, and of the sula or trident.
There is in the Elephanta Caves a splendid fragment
of a huge sculptured image of Siva the destroyer.^™ In
the same way the elephant head of Ga^esa is a symbolical
representation of victory. Hence at the commencement
of every undertaking the orthodox Hindu ojBEers prayers
to this god to bless him with success. He is the Lord,
again, of the Ganas or troops of inferior deities.^^
There is a good image of him (see Plate I in the
Industrial Arts of India) with ankusa and parasu in
his hands. Subrahmanya or Skanda, the celebrated
war-god of the Puranic literature, has a peacock for his
vehicle (vahana), just as Vi§nu has the Garudla or the
golden eagle. He is represented with six heads. He
wears the weapon Sakti resembling a spear, and his
: standard of victory flies over his head. Other weapons
attributed to him are the bows and arrows. He is the
devasenapati, the commander-general of the celestials.
His is the symbol of energy and strength. These gods
are very familiar even to children in India, for every
village temple contains some of them.
Lastly, we may consider Durga, the war-goddess, who
is represented in several temples. Special mention may
I be made of the one found in Mahabalipuram; there was
another at Singasari in Java, now in the Ethnographic
Museum at Leyden. It is a masterpiece in a great
stone alto-relievo of Durga killing the demon
170 Havell ; Indian Sculpture and Painting, p. 49.
*171 MdrJcandeyapfirgna, 82.
WBAPONS or WAB AS OATHERBD FBOM LITlBBATUBa 149
It roughly belongs to the 10th century A.D. or later.
It is worth while comparing this with the description
of Durga’s battle with the Asura in literature.”* In
the battle that raged between Mahi§asura and Indra
the latter was defeated and consequently the Asura
became the god of heaven. All the gods became enraged
and created a goddess, each out of his own element.
Siva endowed her with a trident, Vi^u with a disc,
Yaruna with a noose, Agni with a spear, Marut with
bow, arrows and quiver, Indra with the thunderbolt and
the bell of his elephant, Yama with pa^ or rope,
Kala with a lustrous sword and shield, and Visvakarma
with a battle-axe. She rode on a lion with a voice that
struck terror. In the battle thousands of Asuras with
horses, elephants, and chariots offered resistance. The
Mahisasura himself was equipped with the tomara,
bhindip^a, ^kti, musala, gada, paraiu, and patti^.
Durga attacked him with all her fury and a river of
blood flowed in the fleld. Cinchchuna, the general-in-
chief of the Asura host, was killed with the trident, his
staff, chariots, and horses being broken. Lastly came
Mahisa assuming the forms of a man, an elephant, and a
buffalo, and fought bravely, but in vain. His head was
cut off and the whole of heaven and earth was filled with
indescribable joy.
Another manifestation of Siva is Virabhadra, an
image of which stands on the Kalmunda with Bhadrakali
in the Perur temple, in Coimbatore District. It agrees
with the description in literature.”® He has one head
but thirty-two hands, matted hair, and three eyes. In
172 See, for instance, Devi Bhdgavatam, Bk. V. Ch. VIU.
178 SM., P. IV. 5. (whole).
150
WAtl IN ANOIBSNT INDIA
the sixteen hands on his right side he wears respec-
tively the symbol of protection from fear (abhaya-
prada), sword, trident, cakra, damaru, bow, arrow,
ploug^hare, lotus, scad of knowledge, barbed spear,
dagger, rudraksamala, khatvanga, club and battle-axe.
In those on the left side he wears respectively the symbol
of blessing, a piece of wood, the hammer,, the goad, the
noose, the snake, the fire, the deer, the bell, the bow, the
gun, the lotus, a water pot, the shield, and others.
NUMISMATIC EVIDENCE
Examining the various coins found in India we
notice some kinds of arms and armour exhibited in them.
In the Persian and Macedonian types of coins^^* the
obverse side contains a mounted horseman wearing
curio, with lance in rest, pursuing two mounted men on
an elephant. This is identified with Porus’s pursuit on
an elephmit but cannot be conclusively accepted. On the
reverse is one wearing a spear and a thunderbolt. The
Indian types of Bactrian kings are illustrated by
Appolodotus I wearing the bow and arrow and Anti-
machus naked to the waist wearing a trident in the right
arm and perhaps a shield hanging from his left. In the
face of this numismatic evidence, Baden-Powell’s con-
jecture that the sula was only a temple symbol and not
a war weapon, falls to the ground. Moreover, it was
probably the symbol of the Kushan kings, of the first
century A.B., as testified to by their coins.^^® Again, in
the numerous Indo-Seythian coins^^* the kings wear coats
174 Cambridge History of India, I, Plate I.
176 fWrf., p. 582.
176 Ibid., Piste III.
WEAPONS OF WAR AS aATHERSD FROM UTBRATURO 151
of mail, or chain armour, helmets with straight swords
and lances, some standing and others on horses or
elephants. There are also short curved spears, clubs,
and other weapons. Some of them belonged to the second
or third century B.C. or even much earlier.
We conclude with the words of Sir George
Birdwood : ‘ For variety, extent, and gorgeousness, and
ethnological and artistic value, no such collection of
Indian arms exists in this country (England) as that
belonging to the Prince of Wales. It represents the
armourer’s art in every province of India, from the
rude spear of the savage Nicobar islanders to the costly,
damascened, sculptured, and jewelled swords, and shields,
spears, daggers and match-locks of Kashmir, Katch and
Vizianagaram. The most striking object in the collection
is a suit of armour made entirely of the homy scales of
the Indian armadillo, or pangolin, encrusted with gold,
and turquoises, and garnets.’^’’
Thus it is obvious that the artistic instinct was
developed to a wonderfully high degree in ancient India
of which any Indian may be proud. But this steady
and onward march of Indian art and sculpture was
sometimes arrested by the continuous inroads of
foreigners. Even in such troublous times the arts of
peace were not neglected. There was a temporary set-
back since the advent of the East India Company. But
to-day with the growth of nationalism there is a signi-
ficant awakening in this direction.
177 The Industrie^ Arts of India, pp. 171-2.
CHAPTER IV
ARMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS
SBCnONI I
INTRODUCTORY
Regular and proper organisation are the life and soul
of an army. It was this great lesson that Prussia
taught to an astonished Europe. I advisedly use the
words ‘ regular and proper ’. A regular army means
a class of fighting men devoted to the service of the
State, like the ancient Spartans who realised long ago
what Bacon wrote centuries later; ‘Walled towns,
stored arsenals, and armouries, goodly races of horses,
all this is but a sheep in a lion’s skin except the breed
and disposition of the people be stout and warlike.’ A
proper army means that it must be efficient. There
shpuld be no waste, no inefficiency. With these preli-
minary remarks let us proceed to examine the ancient
Indian army organisation.
THE GAME OF CHESS AND THE FOUR-FOLD FORCE
Owing to peculiar geographical features,^ with her
vast plains interspersed with forests, the ancient Indian
State had to make extensive use of mounted forces which
comprised cavalry, chariots, and elephants. This does
not mean that infantry was neglected or it formed an
1 PgiT the influence of geography on the Indian Wars see H. C.
Ray : Notes on War in Ancient India, Journal of the Department of
Letters, 1927.
D— 20
164
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
uiiimportaiit limb of the tomy. Hindu India possessed
the classical fourfold force of chariots, elephants,
horsemen, and infantry,* collectively known as the
Caturangabala. Students know that the old game of
chess also goes by the name of Caturanga.® Chess is
a game of war, and in each game there are a king,
a councillor, two elephants, two horses, two chariots,
and eight foot-soldiers. The major pieces occupy the
opposite edges of the board and in front of them are
posted the foot-soldiers. The corner squares are occu-
pied by the chariots, the next squares are occupied
by the horses with the well-known move of the Knight,
and the third squares by the elephant. In the two
central squares are the King and the Councillor. The
foot-soldiers are arranged on the second and seventh
rows. On the whole the board is 8 X 8 squares.* Accord-
ing to Tylor,® the game of chess was the invention of
some Hindu who devised a game of war with the
astdpada board as his field of battle. From the reference
to this game in the Rg Veda and the Atharva Veda and
in the Buddhist and Jaina books, it must have been very
popular in ancient India. The Persian terrq Chatrang
and the Arabic Shatrang are forms of the Sanskrit
Caturanga.^^ This shows that India was the original
2 Ar. Sds., p. 140; Kama. 19, 23 and 25; Sukra IV. 7; Agni
Pur&m 228. 6; Jatcika VI. 298; Vol. II, p. 66, 70, 71; III. 167, and
161 etc. Tukti, p- 6.
3 See in this connexion A History of Chess by H. J, R. Murray
(Oxford, 1913).
4 See for details op. cit. pp- 25 ff. For some diagrams of chess
see AlherunVs India, ed. Sachau; also Parker, Ceylon.
6 Anthropology, 1892, p. 307.
6a 'Sfllapiini, Caturangadlpikd (Cal. Sanskrit series 21).
ARMV AND ARMY DIVISIONS
155
home of this game which spread throughout the ancient
world.
However this may be, we are here concerned with
the question whether the fourfold force supplied the
motive for the game or vice versa. It is to be noted that
the relative values of the chess pieces were analogous to
or identical with the relative values of different arms as
laid down by Kautalya, Sukra, and Vaisampayana. This
may mean that the values of different kinds of forces
(made arbitrarily) were borrowed from chess. While
mathematically the relative values of chess pieces can be
worked out, there is less possibility of proving the rela-
tive values of different kinds of forces in war. We have
to take it accordingly that the assumptions of Indian
strategy were borrowed from chess, and not vice versa.
We find that wherever chess has spread, its influence has
led to the ascription of the same relative values to
different types of military forces, e.g. in Persia and
China. The organisation of the Indian army which
came to be knoAvn as Caturanga, both in epic Sanskrit
and Pali literature, was based on the ancient game.
The two methods of winning in early chess were the
checkmate and the barring of the opponent’s king.® An
exact reproduction of these methods is seen in ancient
warfare, the prime object of which was the vanquishing
of the enemy forces, secured by the capture or death of
the opponent or by the devastation of his army. We
may also add that a symmetrical arrangement of the
different forces and its advantages must have been taken
from chess.'' It may be asked, in this connexion: Can
6 Op. cii. p. 45.
7 I am indebted to Bao Bahadur Professor K. V. Bangaswami
Aiyangar for this suggestion.
166
WiUt IN ANCnaNT INDIA
it not be the other way round, or can it not be mere
accidental identity? The answer is simple. This was
not possible, as we meet with the term Caturmga, a
fourfold force, only in epic Uteratufe and not in the
earlier Vedic literature. And it may be pointed out that
the Vedic works are full of references to the game of
chess. Therefore it is natural that the principles of
chess supplied ideas to the progressive development
of the modes and constituents of the army.
SECTION U
FURTHER DIVISIONS
The traditional fourfold force was not a static
division. Later on the army was regarded as a sixfold
force, mantm or the force of counsel and hosa or the
power of the treasury being added to the original four
divisions.® The addition to the army of these two divi-
sions was probably due to the early recognition by
Hindu statesmen of the importance of a good treasury
and expert counsel in military matters. The consultation
was, of course, advisory. But the King would not take
a line of his own independently of his Council. In cases
of difference of opinion he had to convert the Council
to his view and then act. This is clear from the Council
held by Ravaria on the eve of the War of Lanka,® and
from the proceedings of the meetings held by Eama to
entertain Vibhi^aQa as an ally.^®
8 ^ 1
"Wlf II Kdma. 19.24.
9 Bdmdyana, Yuddha, chh. 35-36.
10 Bdm&yana, Tuddha, chh. 17-18. ^
▲RMT AND ARMY DIVISIONS 157
In anotiier place^^ an eightfold division is mentioned.
Besides the Caturmga there is vi§t^i or commissariat and
transport, navy or admiralty, edra or spies, and desika or
elders and advisers.
■ It is interesting to study the judicious distribution
of work and responsibility without causing any internal
friction which constituted the greatest merit of the
ancient Indian army. An examination of the differ^t
constituents of the army may therefore not be out of
place here.
SECTION m
CHARIOTS
Chariots were used in warfare from very remote
times. There are many references to chariots in the
Samhitas and in the Brahmanas. In the Bg Veda there
is a hymn addressed to the war chariot ‘ Lord of the
wood, be firm and strong in body: be bearing as a brave
victorious hero. Show forth thy strength, compact with
straps of leather and, let thy rider win all spoils of
battle.^ We meet with a similar hymn in the Atharva
Veda}^ ‘ O forest tree I stout-limbed verily mayst thou
become our companion, further, rich in heroics ; thou art
ii
^ wr: II
SWI^r^r 3 ii Ssnti. Ch. 58. 4041.
12 VI. 47. 26.
18 Bk. VI. 125.
158
WAR IN. ANCIENT INDIA
fastened together with kinej be thou stout: let him who
mounts thee conquer things conquerable.’ ‘ Forth from
heaven, from earth (is its) force brought up: forth
from forest trees (is its) power brought hither: to the
force of the waters, brought forth hither by the kine, to
Indra’s thxmderbolt, the chariot, do thou sacrifice with
oblations.’ ‘ Indra’s forces, the Maruts’ front, Mitra’s
embryo, Varuna’s navel do thou, enjoying this oblation,
giving of ours, O divine chariot, accept the oblations.’
The chariot was an indispensable instrument of war
in the days of the Vedas, and on its possession depended
victory. Indra is said to attack the chariot of Kesin.^*
Originally the warrior was his own charioteer whose
office had not yet been separated from that of the fighter.
Thus when the dreadful Asuras attacked the celestials,
both Indra and Agni yoked and guided their horses
themselves. The separation of the two offices must have
been effected about the time of the Aitareya Brahtmma^
where mention is made for the first time of a charioteer
distinct from the warrior. The large^“ number of
references to chariots in the Aita/reya BraJimana would
seem to indicate that the chariot was an important
instrument of war in those days. This inference is
supported by the Taittinya Brahmatm^'^ which mentions
a class of people called mathakaras, or chariot-makers;
and tl^ may be taken as proof that war-chariots were
in great demand. Wars carried on mainly with the
help of chariots, as during and before the days of the
14 Ibid., 75. 1-7.
16 TV. 1; XXI. 1 (A. B. Keith).
16 n. 87; X. 5; V. 21; XXIV. 3; VII. 19; XXXTV. 1 etc.
17 I, p. 126.
ARMY AND ARMY DIVIE(lONS
169
BrShma^as, could not have been very complex, and
hence the dvandva/yuddha of Sanskrit literature must be
taken to have been a normal feature of this rather than
of the later period. The dvandvayuddha or single com-
bat became gradually obsolete as a method of warfare,
owing doubtless to the progress made in the art of war
and the consequent growth in the scale and magnitude
of military operations. It is, however, evident that the
practice died only slowly. The Bdmdyana has accounts
of many single combats.
The importance and value of chariots in warfare
can be seen also in the epics. In the BdmdyayM and
the Mahdbhdrata their use is largely in evidence. Here
mention is made of of&ciaf charioteers, i.e., a king accom-
panied by a charioteer, similar to a custom depicted in
Assyria on the marbles from Nineveh. Thus whereas
we had in the !^g Vedic age a single rider, in the age of
the Brahmanas and epics we meet with one warrior and
an accompanying charioteer. In the Atharva Veda
Indra was the left stander and the moon-god was the
charioteer.^® In the foiirth century B.C. two fighting
men are seen in each chariot besides the charioteer. This
is testified by the , fragments of Megasthenes.“ We
know that Krsna was the charioteer of Arjuna in the
Kuruk§etra war and earned the appropriate title of
Parjhasarathi.
^'^Vasudeva, Arjuna, and Matali are some of the
great charioteers mentioned in the two epics. Judging
by the tests laid down by Valmik!,*® they appear to have
been ideal charioteers, for they possessed all the quali-
18 Bk. Vni. 8. 23.
19 Frag. 34 (McCrindle).
20 YuMha. 106, 16-20.
l$0 WAR I^jt'^CIBNT INDIA
fioatious required|/ilnd sometimes more. We read, for
exauuple, that ^ffsudeva’s great skill ais a charioteer
consisted in leading the horses in his charge in such
circles as to ayoid the shafts of the enemies from any
quarter. A propos of the skill of charioteers, we may
motion that there is a reference in the MdrkcmAeya
PurmieF^ to the death of a warrior who was versed in the
eight modes of fighting from a car.
It would be interesting to trace the relation of the
charioteer to the Knight, and the status he held. There
are different terms like rathin, siita, and sdrathi used to
denote the charioteer; and of these siita is the most
misunderstood. As I have said elsewhere,J^ it is a
fundamentally wrong theory to identify this siita with
the celebrated Suta pauranika. The latter is a sage and
ayonija. The charioteer siita belonged to one of the
mixed castes who became horse-trainers, physicians,
charioteers, etc. He occupied, in epic times, a place of
21 ^ I
fq II
^^iw II
«TWTO(i*ni. II
^ II
22 Some Aspects of the Vdyu PurihM (Madras University).
ABMT AND ABMY DIVISIONS
161
honour on different occasions. We know from the
Bamdyana the great esteem Sumantra,®* the suta of
Dasaratha, enjoyed with the royal household.
FUNCTIONS OF THE CHARIOTEER
His chief duty was to lead the war chariot and to
shield his warrior. He was ordinarily to obey the
warrior’s behests. Sometimes the charioteer had his
own way and acted against his Knight’s wishes. When
the hero commanded him to drive the chariot in a
particular direction, carelessly and irrespective of the
consequences the charioteer expostulated, but agreed
only when- compelled to take that line of action.^^
He was an expert who drove his horses with the
whip and reins in his left hand. But when this hand
was wounded, he still drove on, holding the goad and
reins in his right. ‘ His true art ’, says Hopkins,
‘ consisted in wheeling and turning, in bringing the car
rapidly about, so as to attack the antagonist with such
speed from all quartere that the chariot seemed to
advance from all sides at once. The names of the circles
are apparently technical . . . The effect of circling was
produced by goading the steeds and hauling on the
reins. ’
THE EVIDENCE OF ARTHASASTRA
The Arthasdstra mentions a special officer called the
Superintendent of Chariots (Rathadhyaksa) and lays
23 Rama, Ayodhya 59, (whole).
24 Mhh, Drona 35, 31-2; 36 (whole). Cp. Karnn 27. Hera
we have the legend of Brahma acting as charioteer to Rndra bent
upon blowing the Tirpura, th(? Asura citadel.
25 Op. dt. p. 253.
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
169
down, in vexatious detail, rules regarding the sjiiiere of
his duties.*® From the number and minuteness of these
rules we may infer that by this time the business of
supervising the chariots of the State had become so
unwieldy as to require a special officer. According to
the Arthasdstra the normal height of a chariot was
10 purusas while its width ranged from 6 to 12 purusas.
^ Six varieties of chariots are mentioned, of which three
were used in war, one in the period of training, the
second for marching towards the enemy, and the third
in the theatre of operations. The chariots were two-
wheeled, four-wheeled, and eight-wheeled. Each car
was accompanied by ten or fifty elephants.*’^ The duties
of the officer in charge of the chariots were many and
varied. He was to see that warriors were trained to
fight from chariots. He was to maintain accounts relat-
ing to the construction of chariots, their establishment
charges, and other things connected with his department.
The value of a chariot as a unit of the army was
great. It could ably and effectively resist the attacks
of the enemy, suddenly occupy positions of advantage
and quickly abandon disadvantageous situations, easily
rally the soldiers fallen into disorder, break through the
ranks of the enemy, and threaten the enemy’s rear.^
Megasthenes refers to the chariots as follows: —
* Th^ chariots are drawn on the march by oxen but the
horses are led along by a halter, that their legs may not
be galled and inflamed, nor their spirits damped by
drawing chariots. In addition to the charioteer there
26 Bk, n. 33.
27 Mkh., Vdyogfl. 155. 15-24.
28 Ar. Sss., Bk. X. 4; Kima. 20.4; Niti. TI. 62.68.
ARMV AMD AttMY DlVISlOKS
16ft
are two fighting men who sit in the chariot beside
him.’“ It is of interest to note that chariots were
drawn by oxen. It was realised that the special quality
of the horse was not endurance, but speed, and that
horses whose energies had been spent in marching would
be useless in the field.
In addition to chariots drawn by horses there were
i others drawn by asses and bulls. The Bamaya/m tells
us that Indrajit’s chariot was drawn by mules.®® The
Mahdbhdrata refers to a war car drawn by sixteen white
bulls. The employment of asses and bulls may also be
attributed to the lack of suitable horses.
DIFFERENT TYPES
Chariots were of different types and materials.
Sukra mentions®^ an awe-inspiring chariot of iron with
swift-moving wheels, provided with good seats for the
warriors®® and a seat in the middle for the charioteer;
the chariot was also equipped with all kinds of offensive
and defensive weapons.®® The Harwamsa^* speaks of
the iron car of the Dmiava Tata having eight wheels,
axles and poles and being furnished with a crow
standard. It was two miles in length and drawn by
29 Frg. 34 (McCrindle).
30 Yuddha. 73.8. The Atharva Veda evidences a chariot yoked
with she-males (Bk. VIII. 8. 22). It is to be noted that the Baby-
lonians used ass-drawn chariots from time immemorial. Hall: The
Ancient History of Near East, p. 181 (1932).
31 IV. 7. 30-31.
32 For a description of a chariot warrior see Mhb. TV, 54. 10-22
especially st. 22.
33 Ibid., Drowi. 112. 48.
84 Ch. 43.
War in ancient ineia
m
1#00 mules. Iron nets were hung from its windows and
a variety of weapons were found in it. This is an
exaggerated description apparently of a very strong and
huge chariot, and shows that chariots were freely used in
wars.
From the time of the epics to the epoch of the
Puranas the art of fighting from chariots had developed
a high degree of perfection. But we must not be blind
to their defects. If the ground became slippery by
incessant rain, the chariots got stuck in the mud and
became immovable from their great weight. This is
what happened in the battle of the Hydaspes. Owing
to the storm of rain, ‘ the chariots in rushing into
action jolted over broken and slippery ground.’ The
horses again took fright and precipitated the carriages
not only into the sloughs and pools of water but even
into the river itself.®®
Each chariot was marked off by its ensign and ban-
ner. Though a reference is made to the position of the
flag-staff in a car,®® its exact place is only a matter of
conjecture. It may be, as Hopkins thinks, that a staff
was fixed at the back of the chariot rising aloft from the
floor. The main staff was fixed in the middle of this
back portion and small flags flew on either side. It must
be remembered that the first object of attack by the
enemy’s arrows was the flag pole, which was made of
bamboo, if vaiimvi ydsti^ means anything. If the
banner fell^ the hero lost his prestige and there arose
35 See McCrindle: Ancient India, The Invasion of Alexander,
p. 208.
86 BhSama, 101. 47-48; Smptika 13.4.
37 Idi, 64.17.
* „ j
AAMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS
165
confusion in the rank and file. On the top of the staff
was placed the dhvaja or ketu bearing an image.
Whether dhvaja and ketu were one and the same thing,
or the ketu formed a part of the dhvaja, it is not
possible to say. The dhvaja came to be so important
that the army went by the name of dhvajinV^ The
symbols were either animals or trees and flowers.
Bhisma’s ensign was the palm. Bells and garlands
sometimes adorned the flag.®®
Besides flags, umbrellas (chattra, dtapatra) and
fans were a part of the paraphernalia of the war
chariot. The umbrella, which was a prominent feature
of all festive occasions, was also seen in the field of
action. It was often of white material, the stick some-
times being golden.^® Among the spoils of war one had
to gather the umbrellas in the battle-field. In the old
Tamil literary works we are told that often the urnbrella
sticks and the flag staff recovered from tlie enemy
became the talaikkol used by dancing girls in Tamil
India.*^ This only indicates that the ancient Tamils
attached as much importance to these paraphernalia as
their northern brethren.
ITS DECLINE
Gradually the uses of chariots in war declined, and
we have no mention of it in Bana’s Harsacarita (7th
century A.D.) in his description of Harsa^s army.^ Nor
38 Udyoga, 155. 25.
39 Drom, VII. 105 (whole).
40 Bhisma, 55. 31.
41 See Dikshitar, SUappadiMram, pp. 102-3.
42 Cowell and Thomaa-^Trn, pp. 224-25.
166
WAR IN ANCIRNT INDIA
was it seen in the army of Pulakesin II (641 A.D.), if we
may rely on the authority of Yuan Chwang.*® Again, in
the Kuram PaUava grant** about 650 A.D., which
describes the battle of Peruvala Nallur, only elephants,
horses, and footmen are mentioned and not chariots.
; Further in the history of the Chola kings of South India,
during the succeeding centuries mention is only made
of the other three divisions of the army. The chariots,
as instruments of war, are not mentioned — a clear
indication that they must have become obsolete by that
time. Still the evidence is strong that in India from
the earliest times down to the end of the epoch of the
epics and even several centuries after, chariots played a
very prominent part in warfare.
SECTION IV
ELEPHANTS
The next important force of war consisted of
elephants. Prom very early times the elephant was
used in peace as a vehicle and in war as a combatant.*®
It was an excellent means of transport over rugged
tracts. * The numerous representations of the animal on
43 Watters II, p. 239. See also Dept, of Letters, 1927, pp. 38-31,
44 S'././., Vol. I, p. 153.
45 For the origin and value of elephants in war see Pfilakipya
quoted in the Laksamprakiia, pp. 321-28. The ParAgarasamhitA
refers to 'four kinds of elephants, also mentioned in the Yt^u-
dharmottara and Brahmdnda Pur ana. These are Bhadra, Manda,
and liii^ra with their respective characteristics. Cp. also
Bphaspati Samhita quoted in Laksanaprakdsa, pp. 329 if. The
Bpluspatisanihita classifies them according to the nature of terri-
tory—^ose of forests, of mountains and of rivers {Ibid., p. 857).
ARMT AND ARMY DIVISIONS
167
coins and in architectural and sculptural works from
Gandhara to Ramesvaram as well as in Indonesia are an
indication of the esteem in which it was held by the
ancient Indians, clearly on account of its usefulness.
^ There is a reference in the Rg Veda to two elephants
bending their heads and rushing together against the
enemy which is a fairly early reference to the animal
\ being used in war^ In the earlier texts of this Samhita
' the elephant is spoken of as a wild animal with one hand,
while in the later ones it is designated as ‘ hastin
By the time of the Yajur Veda Samhita the art of train-
ing elephants had become common.
''The Arthasdstra*^ mentions a special officer of the
State for the care of elephants, and lays down his duties
and other particulars connected with that office.^ Later
works like that of Palakapya refer to a Gajamatya,
while the Visnudharmottara speaks of him as Gajadh-
yaksa, both denoting the same official. He should be
versed in the different sounds of the animal. He must
also be pure and skilled in accounts. A good trainer of
elephants, he must be able to distinguish different classes
of the animal and capable of enduring trouble, self-
controlled, experienced, an interpreter of signs and
omens and one who can attend to the ills of an elephant —
stleh a man may be appointed as its rider.*®^ According to
Kautelya the officer was to protect elephants and the
46 X. 106. 6.
47 I. p. 81.
^i3f^ 11 Bk. II. 31.
49 See LaksamprakdSa, pp. 400-2.
168
WAB IN ANCIENT INDIA
elephant-forests. He was to regulate the quantity of
rations and grass to be supplied to elephants, supervise
their stables and accoutrements, and watch the work of
the grooms and mahouts. He was to see that the sick and
wounded elephants were treated by the veterinary sur-
geon specially appointed for the purpose. He was also
to disburse the wages and salaries of those who were
employed in the elephant stables. He was to see that
the animals were washed both morning and evening
and fed immediately after their wash. They were to be
watered in the afternoon after their daily exercise which
was in the forenoon. The remaining portion of the day
was the time for rest. The animals caught were arranged
in three classes.®® ^he Arthasdstra gives directions for
the construction of stables and also particulars for
feeding the elephants. The intelligence of the animals
was to be gauged by their appearance and external
marks.
Seven ways of training elephants for war are men-
tioned:— ^®^
Upasthana — ^rising and jumping over fences and
other eminences.
Samvartana — sitting and leaping over pits.
Samyana — ^marching straight or zigzag.
Vadhavadha — ^trampling under foot horses and
foot-soldiers.
Hastiyuddha — spitting elephants against one ano-
ther.
50 tJttama, (Bhadra), Madhyama (Manda) and Avara or the
lower animals, see Ganapati Sastri’s Gloss. Ar. Sds. Bk. 11. 31.
51 Ar. ^ids. Bk. II. 32 See also Somelvara's MdnasoUSsa
Sts. 307ff. . ,
ARMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS
169
Nagarayana — rushing against forts and buildings.
Samgramika — ^used in open warfare.
The Mahout was to have a staff and the ankus or goad.
The animals were to be caparisoned with various plates,
ornaments, and bells.®^ There were flags seen upon the
elephants, and these were called Vai jay antis, smaller in
size to those attached to war-chariots. There seem to
have been special flags intended to be borne by w'ar
elephants.®®
^Megasthenes explains®* how the elephants were
hunted, and how their distempers were cured by simple
remedies such as cow’s milk for eye-disease and pig’s
fat for sores. He further speaks of a committee to
supervise elephants and refers to royal stalls and to a
war-elephant carrying four men, three archers, and a
driver.^' It is interesting in this connexion to note what
Plutarch writes of the elephant of Porus in his battle
with Alexander.®®
‘ His elephant, waxing furious though not yet
wounded, kept changing the ranks of the enemy
until the driver, perceiving the king’s condi-
tion, turned the beast round and fled . . . The
Indian driver thinking the king wished to
alight, made the elephant kneel down in the
usual manner . . . Alexander, supposing that
he was dead, ordered his body to be stripped —
when the elephant turned upon them in defence
62 Bk. II. 32.
53 Mhh. Bhlsma, 112.27;
54 See Arrian XIII; McCrindle pp. 218-19 (Cal. 1926). Cp.
VSyupur^a 16.20 where allusion is made to the training of wild
elephants by a hook.
55 McCripdle: Invasion of Alexander, pp. 212 ff.
D— 22
170
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
of his master and lifting him up placed him
once more on its back. ’
How much importance and value was attached to
these animals in war can be gathered from the words of
Alexander himself before he crossed the Hydaspes. In
the course of the instructions he gave his followers, he
said : ‘ It is the elephant only which makes it impossible
for the horses to land on the other bank. The rest of the
army can cross over without difficulty.’®** We are told
how these huge beasts at first crushed the Macedonian
phalanx though in close formation and created terror
among the soldiers of Alexander until they became quite
exhausted. Thus a detailed study of the battle of the
Hydaspes shows the superiority of the elephant crops
ov^ the other divisions of the army.®’
The Agni Purdna^^ considered to be as late as C. 900
A.D. has some interesting details. Six w^arriors could ride
at a time on an elephant, two with maces on its neck,
two archers on its back, and two with swords behind
them. While the elephant marched, it was defended by
three horsemen.’^'" If this reckoning is compared with the
different orders recommended on various occasions in
the Mahdbhdrata and the Rdmdyana, it only shows that
the arrangements were dictated by the circumstances,
and there was nothing like a uniform law which was to
be observed, though in theory it was there.®® For
56 Ibid., p. 98. Hellenic military art was just then becoming
familiar with the use of elephants in warfare. Pyrrhus, the Epirot,
made use of elephantry, in the next century, in his wars against the
Bomans who later learnt of its effective use from the Carthagenians.
57 Cp. Ar. §as., HastipradMno Vijayardjyam.
68 Ch. 242, 24ff.
59 Hopkins, op. cit. p. 267, n.
ARMY AKD ARMY DIVISIONS
171
instance, while in one place we are told that a chariot
had ten elephants, and each elephant had in its turn ten
horsemen; in another place it is said that each chariot
had 100 elephants, and each elephant had 1,000 horsemen
protecting it.“° In actual practice, however, the Matsya
army consisted of 8,000 chariots, 1,000 elephants, and
60,000 horse.®^
^The services of elephants in ancient wars were
great. They marched in front of the army clearing the
way of trees and shrubs. They protected the hanks of
the army, helped the army to ford rivers, presented a
firm front in fight, broke down the enemy phalanx,
routed the enemy’s army, rallied the soldiers of their
side, and safeguarded the treasure.®" Generally the
elephants formed the best decorations of a royal camp,
and a monarch could achieve any amount of military
success by means of his elephants alone.®®'' On account
of their importance in battle, only animals possessing
distinct characteristics are recommended to kings for
their stud. Some of these are said to be of the colour
resembling a rainy cloud; some had a fund of physical
strength, good height, attainment of speed with little or
no use of the goad, a commanding appearance, combative
propensity, and a power of enduring any amount of
fatigue. It was only such noble animals that were kept
in the royal stable chiefiy for purposes of war. The
elephant science, which went by the name of gajasiksa or
hasti sastra, was a special branch of study and formed
60 Wih., Drona, 60. 5-6; Udyoga 155.16.
61 Virat, 33. 48.
62 Agni Pur&na, 242. 23-4; Kama. 20, 1-3; Nlti 22.6.
63 mti, 23.3.
172 WAE XN ANCIENT INDIA
‘ an important part of military discipline.’ “
''According to SivOrVyasa Dhanurveda^ whose date
of composition is difficult to fix with the data available
at present, the king who possessed good and trained
elephants was sure to succeed in every engagement,^ as
they effectively destroyed the entrenchments of the
enemy’s camp, vigorously protected the fianks of their
own army, pulled down towers in a fury, struck terror
into the enemy’s heart, destroyed his phalanx, and
cleared a passage even through the densest forest.
Lastly, ll^^y were ready to sacrifice their own lives for
their master’s benefit and hence there was nothing equal
to an elephant corps. ' Here we cannot forbear giving a
beautiful Jataka story®" which pays a tribute to the
noble qualities of the animal. The Bodhisatta was the
son of an elephant-trainer in the neighbourhood of
Benares. He was appointed to train the State elephant
of his own king. Once the king mounting on it led an
attack on the city of Benares. The soldiers who offered
defence from within the city gates discharged a shower
of missies against the enemy at which the elephant was
frightened a little. The trainer addressed the elephant
thus: ‘ Son, a hero like you is quite at home in the
battle-field! In such a place it is disgraceful to turn
tail’
64 Matsya Purawi. ch. 215. 36. In this connexion we may refer
to the two published works on this subject. One is Hastydyurveda
(Anandasrama, Poona) attributed to Palakapya and MdtangdUla
(Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, No. 10) translated by Edgerton of
Yale University — ‘ The Elephant Lore of the Hindus ’.
65 Sfimgadhara, 1572 and 1573.
66 CoweU ed. II, 182.
ABMV And army divisions 175
‘ Break through the iron bar, beat the pillars
down,
Crash through the gates, made fast for war and
enter the town.’
Recovering courage the elephant rushed towards the
pillars of the gates with all his force and fury and broke
them to pieces. Then he pulled down the gates and
entered the city in victory and glee.
This Jataka throws some light on the view some-
times held that there were no fire-weapons in ancient
India. Certain Greek writers state that Indian elephants
did not face the discharge of flaming missiles, and it has
been argued from this that the animals shied thus,
because they had not been used to fire-weapons of any
kind, there having been none in India.” But the
circumstances noticed by the Greek writers seem to be
capable of a more reasunable explanation, viz., that these
writers speak from their experience of merely excep-
tional occurrences in which the severity of attack on the
animals was greater than could have been borne by
elephants of any place whatsoever. Thus the elephant
in the Jataka wavered because the shower of missiles
discharged at the animal was exceptionally heavy — ^not
because any fiery arm was thrown at it.®®
'' As in the north, elephants formed an important
army division of south Indian monarchs.'^ It is said
67 McCrindlc : Alexander's Invasion,
68 The use of burning naphtha balls thrown against onrushing
elephants to frighten them and make them turn back on their own
side, is mentioned by early Muhammadan historians as a feature of
the warfare between the Kajputs and the Turkish invaders from the
North-west (Elliot and Dowson, Vol. I.)
174
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
that the Cera king Senguttuvan had a valuable force of
elephants on whom he relied in great measure for his
victories. It was on an elephant that he rode to the
Ganges on whose banks he fought the northern Aryan
monarchs.*® ^hat south India was particularly strong
in the elephant corps of her army organisation can be
seen from the great anxiety displayed by Malik Kafur
to take all the animals he could get to his master at
! Delhi who set a high value on their possession. This
was in the 14th century.'^*^
SECTION V
CAVALRY
The third division of the army common to both east
and west was cavalry. We learn from the Kautaliya
and Megasthenes that there was a well-organised and
efficient cavalry force in the army of Candragupta. The
cavalry as an organised force may be traced to the post-
Vedic period but not earlier j for, though we have
references to horses^^ and war chariots drawn by
horses,” we have no indication that the cavalry as a
disciplined force existed in the days of the Bg Veda.
This also explains to some extent why we have not a
good number of horses among the Indus Valley finds
recently unearthed. In the Atharva Veda, however, we
hear of dust-raising horsemen.”
$9 SUa. XXVI. 1. 57.
70 Vide The B3iazamu-’1-Putuh of Amir Ehusrau (tr. & ed.)
by Prof. M. Habib (1930).
71 RV. i. 22.6, 7-8; vi. 46, 13-14; etc.
72 Ibid., 1.3.1:
78 IV. 21.4.
ARMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS
175
In this connexion it is interesting to consider the
oft-repeated statement that horses are non-Indian.
It is not the whole truth. They were known to the
Asuras of Vedic literature. There is a legend narrated
in the third book of the Hariharacaturanga (though
this is a work of the late 12th century A.D., the
tradition recorded is very ancient). Once Brahma
performed a sacrifice out of which came a white horse
with wings. It again came out as Uccaisravas during the
mythical churning of the milk ocean. Bali, the asura
chief, took it for his use and with it as his riding animal
he was able to achieve many impossible things. The
Devas noticed the value of such a riding animal and
appealed to the Creator for its possession. Out of the
tears of the latter in the Daksayajna came forth
horses which were divided into four castes and many
other sub-castes. Daksa felt them to be a nuisance
and cursed them to find their abode on the earth
deprived of their wings. Thenceforward the horses
became the riding animals of gods and men. These
horses went to the Himalayan slopes where the
hermitage of the sage Salihotra was. The latter pro-
tected them as his owui sons and presented them to
gods like Indra, Agni, Vanina, as well as to kings on
the earth. If there is any historical truth under-
lying this legend, it is that the Asuras were the first
to know the use of horses and that the Devas learnt it
afterwards.^* -
But in the epoch of the epics and the ArthaSaJ^
we find that the cavalry occupied as important a place
in the army as any other division. Kautalya mentions
74 Cp. Nakula Alva^tra, quoted in LahsamprakSSa, pp. 407 ff.
176
IN ANCIEI4T INDIA
a State superintendent of horses/® who had many duties
to discharge besides maintaining a register of horses.
The prescriptions of Kautalya relating to the duties of
this officer are analogous to those of the superintendent
of elephants, and only the more important of them from
our point of view need be noticed here. Only experts
in horse training and versed in healing the sick ones
were chosen as asvadhyaksa.'^*’
Megasthenes"^ corroborates the evidence of the
Arthasdstra. There was a special department in the
State for the cavalry. The horses of the State were
provided with stables and placed under the care of good
grooms and syces. There were several trained horsemen
who could jump forward and arrest the speed of gallop-
ing horses. But the majority of them rode their horses
with bit and bridle. When horses became ungovernable
they were placed in the hands of professional trainers
who made the animals gallop round in small circles.
These professionals were experts in the management and
control of horses. In selecting horses of war, their age,
strength, and size were taken into account.”^® We may
remark in passing that Abhimanyu’s horses were only
three years old.™
75
Bk. II. 30.
76 Tbid. 77 Frag. 34 and 35.
78 The Yuktikalpataru distinguishes four kinds of horses. The
classification is regional (p. 181). The inferior beasts are designated
nJca and kaniydmsa.
79 ?id: i srte’Hr: ^
Mhh. Drona, 36.12.
ARMT AND ARMY DIVISIONS
177
Arrian says: ‘The horsemen are equipped with,
two lances like the lances called Saunia and with a
shorter buckler than that carried by the foot-soldiers.
But they do not put saddle on their horses, nor do they
curb them with bits like the bits in use among the Greeks
or the Kelts but they fit on round the extremity of the
horse’s mouth a circular piece of stitched raw ox-hide
studded with pricks of iron or brass pointing inwards,
but very sharp. ’ There are also ivory pricks. The reins
are connected with iron jjrongs in their mouths. It is
practically this prong that keeps the animal in check.
To this prong are connected the pricks, which have their
own share in controlling these animals.®”
How important the science of horses w'as to the
ancient Indians is best seen from the Lahsanaprakdsa
which quotes from several imj)ortant old authorities
some of whieli are ])robably lost to us. Among them are
the Asvdyurvcda and A&vasdstra, the former attributed
to Jayadeva and the latter to Nakula. As the traditional
origin of the elephants is bound up with the name of the
sage S^agayana, so also the legendary account of the
origin of horses is connected with another sage, Salihotra.
There is a treatise on horses entitled i§dli1iotram. It
refers to the four castes of horses and numerous mixed
horses.®^ Another treatise on horses is Asvacikitsita by
Nakula. In the iSukranUisdra^ we get an elaborate list
of the characteristics of a noble horse and of the various
auspicious and inauspicious marks®® on horses. The
80 See Arrian, XVI.
81 See LaksanaprakcUa, pp. 408 ff.
82 rV. 7. 42-72 and 75-110; Tukti. pp. 181-97.
83 It is said in the Mahdhharata that Nala was a master of
horse-science which was imparted to Rtnpama (Adi. 75. 17-18).
Du-23
178
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
colour of the horse®* and its gait are also commented
upon. Rules are given for the proper care of horses.
From the great attention paid to horses in the
Arthasdstra treatises there is every reason to think that
these animals played a very important part in warfare.
Both the Puranas and the epics agree that the horses of
‘ the Sindhu and Kamboja regions were of the finest breed,
and that the services of the Kambojas as cavalry
troopers were requisitioned in ancient wars. In the
Mahdbhdrata w^ar the Kambojans were enlisted. The
steeds of Bahlika were also highly esteemed.® Horses had
names and so also had elephants.®® Some of the finest
horsemen who were experts in their art were Salya,
Karna and Krsna.®^ Unlike the chariot horse, the
cavalryman drove his animal with a whip which was
generally fixed to the wrist. This allowed his hand free
play. The cavalrjunan was armed with arrow or spear
or sword. He wore breastplate and turban (usnisa).®
Worth noting is the fact that horses were made to drink
wine before actually marching to battle.®® The tactical
use of the cavalry was to break through the obstacles on
the way, to pursue the retreating enemy, to cover the
flanks of the army, to effect speedy communication with
the various parts of the army imobserved (bahutsara)
and to pierce the enemy ranks from the front to the
rear.®® The cavalry was responsible, in a large measure,
84 2>rona, 23. 73-74; Bhlsma, 79. 51.
85 Bdma. Bala, I. 6. 22. Mhb. Sauptika, 13.2.
86 See Rama. Bala, I. 6. 23-24.
87 Mhh. Drona, 31. 59-60.
88 Mhb., Kama, 44. 64-7.
89 Ibid., Drona, 112. 56.
90 Kama, 20, 5-6; Nlti. VI. 64-65; NlUvSkya 22.8.
ARMY And army divisions
179
for the safety and security of the army in entrenched
positions, forests or camps. It obstructed movements of
supplies and reinforcements to the enemy. In short, the
cavalry was indispensable in situations requiring quick-
ness of movement.^
We shall conclude this section with the foUowmg
hymn of the Atharva Veda.
‘ Be thou, O steed, of wind swiftness, being
harnessed; go in Indra’s impulse, with mind-
quickness : let the all possessing Maruts harness
thee : let Tvastar put quickness in thy feet.
‘ The quickness, O courser, that is put in thee in
secret, also that went about committed to the
hawk, to the wind with that strength do thou,
O steed, being strong, win the race, resuming in
the conflict.’
SECTION, VI
INFANTRY
The next important division of the army was the
infantry, or foot-soldiers. Originally chariots and
elephants were mostly used for warfare. By frequent
intercourse .with countries which produced the finest
horses the cavalry took an all-impoi-tant place. Lastly
came the foot-soldiers and the notion came to be enter-
tained more and more with the march of time that the
more numerically strong the army, the greater were the
91 See Sankararya’s comment on the Kamandaka 20.5. Sighra-
kSTyopapSdanam, meaning vartsjnanadikarya sampfidanam. This
is especially useful in getting correct information, and delivering the
same in the course of the operations of war {Mhb. Bhisma, 120.28).
180
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
possibilities of its success. The Atharva Veda refers to
one of the battle rites when arming a warrior : ‘ I cover
thy vitals with armour: let king Soma dress thee over
with the immortal: let Varuna make for thee (room)
wider than wide: after thee conquering let the gods
revel. One mode of equipment was with the ensigns.®®
The Arthasastra speaks of the infantry as a separate
army department under the charge of a special officer
of the State. This receives confirmation from Megas-
thenes’ statement.®^ Besides the maula or hereditary
troops which formed a considerable portion of the army,
there were the hhrta or mercenaries, the sreni or soldiers
supplied by the different group and guild organisations
in the state, the mitra or soldiers supplied by allies, the
amitra or deserters from the enemy ranks, and the dtavi
or those recruited from forest tribes.®® Professor
Rapson says that these were probably marshalled, village
by village, as in ancient Greece and Germany and as in
Afghanistan at the present day. Though the military
caste formed the bulk of the army, other castes were also
admitted into it, under special circumstances. This
classification formed probably a cross-division scheme,
including cavalry men also. The value of a hereditary
standing army and its loyalty to the king were well
recognized.®® The soldiers were given the necessary
92 Bk. VII. 118. 93 Bk. X. 1.
94 Ar. ^ds. Bk. X. 5. gyigKNtNd: SWt
also Bk. IX. 2. Prg. 34.
95 Ar. ^ds. Bk. IX. 2. I
96 mu, 22, 15. cp. Ar. Sds. iHW jiW-
■ Bk. IX. 2.*
ARMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS
181
training required for actual operations in the field.
They were instructed to fight from low ground or from
eminences, to engage in open battle or diplomatic
encounters, to fight from trenches and to fight both by day
and by night. The NUiprakdsikd gives a list of their
duties.®^ They were to fix camps, supervise the work of
free labourers engaged in military service, protect the
treasury, arsenal, and other stores, and make arrange-
ments for the formation of battle arrays. According
to the Sukraniti and the Kdmandakanltisdra, the army
was to be made as imposing as possible to frighten the
enemy by its size. The Sukraniti also mentions that
foot-soldiers possessed fire-arms when they fought.**
When these foot-soldiers equipped themselves for
war, Arrian says that ‘ they carry a bow made of equal
length with the man who bears it. This they rest upon
the ground and pressing against it with their left foot,
thus discharge the arrow having drawn the string back-
wards : for the shaft they use is little short of being three
yards long, and there is nothing which can resist an
Indian Archer’s shot — neither shield nor breast-plate,
nor any stronger defence if such there be. In their left
hand they carry bucklers made of imdressed ox-hide
which are not so broad as those who carry them but are
about as long.’
97 ^ ^ I
II
^^ipiRr3«rRK I
II VI. 66-7.
98 rv. 7.24. See Oppert J.A.O.S. 1888, P. 296 and also
OSJ. I, p. 271,
m
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Another mode of equipping for war is also
mentioned. Instead of bows some foot-soldiers were
armed with javelins. But all wore swords with broad
blades and less than three cubits in length. These were
wielded with both hands in close fight to effect a
mighty blow.®® As if to demonstrate the superiority of
disciplined infantry, the Agnipurdna says that victory
ever attends the army where foot-soldiers are numeri-
cally strong.^®®
The jSukranUi^°^ distinguishes the foot-soldiers by
the term svagama from anydgama applicable to the
other three limbs of the caturanga. The field suitable
to their operations was that which contained huge stones
or trees and ant-hills. It was to be free from thorns,
and should be even, and wide.^®®
SECTION! Vn
THE COMMISSABIAT
The caturanga was a classical division of the army
accepted by tradition. But in the epoch of the epics
we hear of a sadanga^^^ or the six-fold army, including
99 Arrian, XVI.
100 Ch. 228-7. see in this
connexion the remarks of Irvine on the Moghul Infantry, p. 57.
The Army of Indim Moghuls.
101 IV. 7. 3.
102 Cp. ^mii 100. 23-25.
103 This term Sadanga connoted differently in different periods.
The ^vkranttisara mentions seven elements of the army (IV. 7.1.),
the usual fourfold division together with bulls, camels and cannon. The
last may be appropriately termed as the artillery. Bulls and camels
are mentioned in the description of the army by Eantalya; but by
ARMT AND ARMY DIVISIONS
183
commissariat and admiralty. The use of commissariat
can be traced to the epic age. It is said that when the
Pandava army marched to Kuruksetra it was followed
by ‘ carts and transport cars, and all descriptions of
vehicles, the treasury, weapons, and machines, and
physicians and surgeons, along with the few invalids
that there were in the army and all those that were weak
and powerless.’ This was a purely civil department
attached to the army.^®* That a group of physicians
themselves they did not constitute two separate divisions as mentioned
by Sukra who probably lived in the early centuries of the Christian
era. The attempt to show that the Vijayanagar army consisted of
the divisions mentioned by Sukra with the exception of chariots on
the single evidence of the Bakhar of Ramaraja cannot be definitely
accepted as we are told by Sewell that the troops of Vijayanagara
which marched against the Sultan of Culbarga in A.D. 1419 con-
sisted of horse, foot and elephants. (Saletore, Social and Political
Life, I, pp. 420-21 and Sewell, Forgotten Empire, p. 65). We have
to treat this evidence with caution. It seems more likely that
bulls and camels continued to be auxiliaries of the cavalry and
elephants. This larger use of camels and bulls was necessitated by
the lack of supply of good horses. We are told that the foreign
policy pursued by Vijayanagar was to get a good supply of horses
from Armuz (Sewell, op. cit., pp. 381-2). It may also be noticed
that the price of a horse was very heavy (Barbosa, I, p. 211). As
for the artillery it is difficult to agree with the view often glibly
expressed that it was unknown to the age of the Arthaidstra
(Saletore, op. cit. p. 420). In the epic and Arthasdstra period
artillery included mostly chariots and sometimes infantry who used
fire arms against the enemy.
104 ^ |
II
^ ^ ^ ll Vdyoga, ISl, 58-59.
184
WAR IN ANCIENT INDU
formed part of the army on the march is again attested
by another reference to them in the next chapter. They
had with them the necessary medicines and other equip-
ment. In describing the camp of the Pandavas we are
told that skilled and experienced workmen were found
in great numbers in the army and that these were given
regular salaries. In it were seen all kinds of weapons,
besides plenty of water, food and fodder, chaff and fire.
Other articles were honey, clarified butter, and pounded
lac.»«
In another chapter of the same parvan,^”® in the
course of a description of Duryodhana’s army, we are
told that it went forth furnished with all the require-
ments of a large army. Some of these were materials
for repair of chariots, tiger skins to cover the chariots,
spare spear-blades and sticks, spare quivers, diverse
suites of ropes, oil, molasses and sand, pots of poisonous
snakes, inflammable articles, syringes, water, skins of
leopards, oil-cloths, clarified butter and other weapons
of war.^®^
The chief functions of this department were to
105 qr^r: I
II
^ TO: II
m ii /&«., 152, 12-14.
106 Ch. 155. Compare the organisation of the B3rzantine army
of the ninth and tenth centuries A.D. as furnished by Charles Oman
in A History of the Art of War in Middle Ages (1905), pp. 189 £f.
107 St. 3ff.
f ' ARMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS 185
supply clothes and arms to those who had lost them.
Wounded soldiers were sent to the camp to be treated by
the physicians and surgeons. The same care was taken
of the wounded animals. Thus the healing of man and
beast was another function of this department.
According to Megasthenes/®* Candragupta’s army
was controlled by a body consisting of six divisions with
five members each. One such division was the Commis-
sariat. This was to co-operate with the superintendent
of bullock-trains used for transporting war material,
food-supplies for the soldiers, provender for the cattle,
and other military requisities. Under the control of
this division were servants who beat the drums or carried
gongs, grooms for the horses, mechanics and their
assistants, and foragers; to this list must be added
physicians, astrologers, etc. mentioned in the Artha-
sastra}^
The NUiprakdsilia^^^ says that the army was
generally followed by a select harem, some friendly
neighbours, a few suburban inhabitants, financiers,
chamberlains, eunuchs, the sick, woimded, maimed and
weak ; also by the civil officials of the State, by workmen,
diggers, carpenters, sim'^eyors, engineers, men acquainted
with the field of action, hunters acquainted wth forests,
and good physicians.
The numerous references in our authorities to the
Commissariat demonstrate beyond doubt that wars were
108 Fg. 34.
109
^3: II Bk. X. 31
110 VI. 19, 22, 34 ff.
D— 24
186
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
plaxined methodically and conducted systematically.
The importance of the Commissariat to the army was
fully recognised from at least the epic period and
certajnly in the Mauryan epoch. To cut off supplies
from the opponents became an accepted method of
strategy. The services of the Commissariat were espe-
cially valuable when fortresses were besieged and siege
operations were protracted. But the persistence of the
camp-following was an element that contributed to the
weakness of the army in the long run. This was specially
seen in the Jdughal army system, especially that of
Aurangzeb. It is said that Sivaji took advantage of
this vulnerable point.^“
SECTION vra
THE ADMIRALTY
Dr. V. A. Smith says that ‘ the creation of the
Admiralty department was an innovation due to the
genius of Candragupta ’. The Admiralty as a depart-
ment of the State may have been a creation of
Candragupta but there is evidence to show that the use
of ships and boats was known to the people of the Rg
Veda}^^ In the following passage we have reference
to a vessel with a hundred oars: ‘ This exploit you
achieved, Aivins in the ocean, where there is nothing
to give support, nothing to rest upon, nothing to cling
to, that you brought Bhujya, sailing in a hundred-oared
ship, to his father’s house. ’
111 See S. N. Sen : The Military System of the Mamthas.
112 Early History of India, p. 133.
113 1,17.1.5.
114 Wilson’s Tm.
ARMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS
187
Further on in the Veda, this same vessel is described
as a plavaP^ which was storm-proof and which presented
a pleasing appearance and had wings on its sides.
Another ref erence"*^ informs ns that Tugra dispatched a
fleet of four vessels (Catasro navah) among which was
the one referred to above. We may infer from these
passages that the Asvins were a great commercial people
having their home in a far-ofE island, and that their ruler
Tugra maintained a fleet in the interests of his State.
There are also other references in the Rg Veda to show
that the ancient Indians were acquainted with the art of
navigation. For instance, Varuna is credited with a
knowledge of the ocean routes along which vessels
8ailed.“^
The Baudhdyana Dharmasdstra speaks of Samudra-
samy^am and interprets it as ndvd dvlpdntardgamanam,
i.e., sailing to other lands by ships. This very term
occurs in the navadhyaksa section of the Kautaliya
Arthasastra.”®
The Puranas have several references to the use of
ships and boats. The Mdrkandeya Parana speaks of
vessels tossing about on the sea. The Vardhapurdna
refers to the people who sailed far into the ocean in
search of pearls and oysters. The ships floated daily on
the shoreless, deep, and fearful waters of the ocean.“®
We are on a firm ground when we see in the Andhra
115 1,24,3,5.
116 Ibid., 6.
117 I, 6,2,7. Cp. Tait Up., Durgd Snktam
118 Bk. II. ch. 28.
119 Quoted in the Yuktikalpataru, p: 228,
188
WAH IN ANCIENT INDIA
period their coim marked with ships. The ship budding
activities were great on the east coast, and the Coro-
mandel coast in particular. From this period to about
15th century A.D. there was a regular intercourse with
the islands of the Archipelago most of which were
colonised and also with ancient America right across the
Pacific as testified to us by the archaeological finds and
inscriptions in those parts. The Pali books of Ceylon
like the Mahavamsa refer to ocean going vessels carrying
700 passengers. Such frequent intercourse and colonisa-
tion through the ages could not have been effected
without a powerful fleet.
But it is in a later work, the Yuktikalpataru of
Bhoja, that we have three classes of ships — the Sarva-
mandira, the Madhyamandira, and the Agramandira.
The first was called Sarvamandira because it had apart-
ments all round. In the Sarvamandira were carried
treasures, animals, and ladies of the harem. This was
the vessel ordinarily used by kings in times of peace.
The Madhyamandira was so called because the living
apartments were situated in the middle. It was a
sporting vessel and generally used in the rainy season.
The vessel of the third kind, the Agramandira, took its
name from the circumstance that the living room was
located in front or at the top of the vessel. The
Agramandira was used for distant and perilous voyages
and also sea-fights.*^ There are also in the Yukti-
kalpataru other references to vessels. There are 27
types of ships mentioned here, the largest having the
measurement 276 ft. X 36 ft. X 27 ft. weighing roughly
120 P. 228; see also R. K. Mookeigee: Shipping in Ancient
India,
AllMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS
189
2,300 tons. The following passage points to the use
of ships in warfare. The line: naukadyam vipadam
jneyam^'^^ makes it clear that naval expeditions were
common. Under the heading of yanam or march men-
tion is made of expeditions by land, water and air. We
shall examine these later on in detail.
Urom this we may conclude that in ancient India
ships were employed in warfare at least as early as the
Rg Vedic times, though only on a scale which would
appear insigniticant to-day what with U-boats and sub-
marines. But it is an incontrovertible fact that there
was a naval department in Mauryan times. We have
the testimony of Megasthenes that the navy was under a
special officer called the Superintendent of Navigation.
This official was in turn controlled by the Admiralty
department. The officer whom Megasthenes refers to as
Superintendent of Navigation is called Ndvddhyaksa as
already seen, in the Arthasdstra. The Greek accounts
bear testimony to the fact that navigation had attained
a very high development at the time of Alexander’s
invasion, for we are told that the invader was able to
secure a fleet from the Punjab at short notice. The
Arthasdstra lays down some healthy regulations relating
to navigation. Vessels which gave trouble or were bound
for the enemy’s coimtry, or transgressed the regulations
of port towns were to be destroyed.^^
A considerable ship building activity is evident on
the west coast of India also as noted in the Sangam
works of the Tamils. South India carried on political
121 P. 7.
Bk. II. 28.
190 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
and commercial activities as far as the Mediterranean
in the early centuries of the Christian era and before.
The great Ceran Senguttuvan had a fleet under him.
Coming to later times we have the account of Huen
Tsang who notices a fleet of 30,000 sail belonging to the
King of Assam. There is inscriptional evidence of the
possession of a fleet under the Kakatiyas and the Cholas
in South India. Marco Polo testifles to the huge size
and efficient construction of Indian vessels while Yule
in his Cathey refers to Rajput ships en route to China.
Friar Odoric saw one with 700 passengers. Varthema
(1503 A.D.) saw vessels of 1,000 tons burden built at
Masulipatam. According to Dr. Vincent, India built
great sized vessels from the time of Agathareids
(171 B.C.) to the 16th century. And no wonder the
Portuguese when they flrst landed at the west coast
were carried away by the excellent India vessels. Later
still, the Vijayanagara Empire, which had as many as
300 ports,^^ had a powerful fleet. The naval commander
was styled Naviyddaprahhu}^ More of this in the
section on naval warfare.
SECTION IX
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD ARMY
Professors Macdonell and Keith remark that in the
Vedic period ‘ in war the Vaisya must have formed the
bulk of the force under the Ksatriya leaders. But like
the Homeric commoners, the Vaisyas may well have done
little of the serious fighting, being probably ill provided
123 Mliot and Dawson, IV. p. 103.
,J24 Ep. Car. VHI, Sb. 468.
ARMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS 191
with either body armour or offensive weapons.’ They
further disagree with Zimmer who advances an untenable
theory, from the terms Sardha, Vrdta and Gana, that
the Vedic host fought according to clan (vis), village
(grama) and family^^® (Altin, Leben, 162). The epic host
satisfied the requirements which were prescribed by the
Arthasdstra. Here the army was composed of the
hereditary troops (maula), hired troops (bhrta), soldiers
belonging to the corporations (.sreni), troops of allies,
of enemy and of wild tribes.^” Kautalya enters into a
discussion on the relative merits of the army composed
of these troops. A body of soldiers who are of the same
country, caste, and training is a great asset. Later on
he says that the best army is one recruited from
hereditary troops well disciplined and loyal. Next come
the hired soldiers who are considered better than the
sreni warriors provided they were easily accessible and
obedient. But the sreni warriors are deemed superior
to those of an ally if they are of the locality and share
the feelings of their master. The volunteers of an ally
are better than those coming from an enemy country.
Even here the army of an enemy led by an Arya is
better than that of foresters. The last two are to be
treated with caution and something like a serpent.
These constituted the sadangabala of a king and must
not be confounded with the sadanga or the sixfold force.
A State may possess all these six kinds of troops at one
and the same time and employ them to advantage. The
discussion on the relative merits of these different forces
125 Vedic Index, ii, p. 334.
126 R.V.V. 53.11.
127 Bk. IX, 11.
193
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
should not be understood to imply that only one kind of
troops was employed at one and the same time.“®
The Sukraniti further describes the characteristics
of a good army. Here a distinction is made between
the standing army and the newly recruited army, the
trained army and the untrained army, the efficient army
and the inefficient army (sara and asara). In short
this political treatise envisages two kinds of recruit-
ment— gulmlbhuta answering to the standing army, and
agulmdka corresponding to the mercenary troops,^®®
though it is not altogether unfamiliar to the other balas
with the exception of srenibala mentioned in the
128 See also Kama. 18. 2. 25f; Manu, VII, 185.
129 3 ^ ^ I
mmi II
I
II
I
^ II
i3OT5^ mim I
II
I
mm ^ ^m\\\
3^ ^ II IV. 7. 945,
AEMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS 105
Kautaliya. This indicates that the srenis must have
died Qut as political entities by the time the 3ukranUi
was composed.
In the opinion of the Kautallya^^^ that was the best
army which was composed purely of Ksatriyas, of noble
birth, strong-bodied and well-disciplined, with a con-
tented home, ready to march over the roughest tracts and
for a considerable length of time, valorous, accustomed
to varieties of climate, and hence inured to privations
and fatigue, well trained in all arts and modes of war-
fare, and also in the handling and application of
weapons, and which never loses its sense of obedience
and loyalty to the King. Further, it is said that a
standing army recruited from the warrior caste, even
though disobedient, is infinitely superior to a force
recruited from different classes of people, for the former
can be easily conciliated and brought round.^®^ Kautalya
has no confidence in an army composed of Brahmans or
even Vaisyas or Sildras.^^^
This raises the question whether soldiers were
drawn also from the Brahman caste. There is no
evidence anywhere that the State itself enlisted these
people. But if members of this caste volunteered their
services, no doubt, they were admitted to the ranks. The
army of Brahmans, says the Arthasdstra, could be won
by means of supplication (pranipata). That of the
130 Bk. IX, 2.
131 Ar. Sas. Bk. VI. 1. This is in agreement with the view of
Clauswitz who says that military virtue is a quality of standing
armies only (Vol. I, p. 183).
132 Ar. Sds. Bk. IX. 2 ; iSanti, 101, where the chief characteristics
of the warriors of the different countries are given. The South
Indians are said to be experts in sword warfare.
I>— 25
194 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Vaisyas and Sudras numerically strong is better than
any of Brahmans or untrained Ksatriya hosts. There
is evidence that Brahmans enjoyed the high position of
a general or a commander. In the epoch of the imperial
Guptas, Kumaramatya Prthivisena who was at first a
member of the council of Kumaragupta was later on
appointed his Commander-in-chief (Mahabaladhikrta)
\_Ep. Ind. X. pp. 71-2]. In the Epic we find Drona,
Aisvatthama and Krpa as commanders. To the Pallava
Narasimhavarman I (Mahamalla) the Brahman Siru-
tondar otherwise known as Paranjoti was the com-
mander-in-chief, who won a victory over Pulakesin II
in 642 A.D. and captured its capital Vatapi.“® There is
inscriptional evidence of the time of the Cholas of a
• Brahman military officer named Krsnan Raman'^ under
Rajaraja the Great. When we come to the epoch of the
Vijayanagara supremacy, we have the evidence of
Krsnadevaraya’s Amuktamdlydda (canto V, 255, 262)
that Brahmans were enlisted more and more for military
service. They were placed in charge of fortresses and
were appointed to lead armies. It is said that the king
would sleep in peace if Brahmans were in charge of
fortresses and of well-equipped forces.^®^®^ This speaks
highly of the loyalty and confidence reposed in them by
ruling monarchs. An inscription at Tirukkadaiyur in
Tanjore District dated 1521-22 of Krsnaraya shows that
leaders of contingents were Brahmans. A record No. 47
of 1906 mentions the name of a Brahman Apatsahayan
133 R. Gopalan, History of the PaUavas of Kanchi, p. 98.
134 S.I.L, II, Pt. V. p. 13.
134a See also Professor K. V. Rangaswami Ayyangar’s paper in
Sir C. R. Reddi Commemoration Volume.
ARMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS
196
as taking part in wars of the period. Even in compara-
tively late times, we find Brahman Generals in command
of armies of their kings, e.g., Rama lyen Dalavai, the
great co-adjutor of Marta^da Varma, the maker of
modern Travancore.
Did the Brahman lose his social pre-eminence by
taking to the profession of arms? According to the
Baudhayana Dharmasdstra, a member of the Brahman
caste unable to keep his body and soul together by
following his hereditary occupation may take up the
profession of arms without prejudice to his svadharma.
This receives confirmation from the Mahdbhdrata.
Some scholars are of opinion that Gautama does not
countenance this rule, but the fact is that, in Gautama’s
opinion, a Brahmana would not be a valuable acqui-
sition to the army, as he is unused to the horrors of
war.
It will thus be seen that the Ksatriyas formed
the rank and file of an army, but that in exceptional
times, as during great and sudden calamities, members
of other castes were also recruited. The inference is
that the recruits from other castes generally reverted
to their old occupations as soon as circumstances
permitted.
We have documentary evidence of the highest value
in the inscriptions of the Great Cholas to show how an
army was organised in the tenth century A.D, in South
India. As many as thirty-one regiments are mentioned
in the Tan j ore inscriptions.^® Most of these regiments
have been called after the surnames or titles of the reign-
ing king or his son : —
135 ii, pt. I, pp. 9 and 10.
196
WAK IN ANCIENT INDIA
• 1. Perundanattu Anaiyatkal (elephant corps).
2. jPandita Sora-Terinda-Villigal (bowmen).
3. Uttama Sora-Terinda-Andalagattalar.
4. Nigarili Sora-Terinda-Udanilai Kudiraich-
chevagar (horsemen).
5. Mummadi Sora-Terinda-Anaippagar
(mahouts).
6. Vira Sora-Anukkar.
7. Parantaka Kongavalar.
8-9. Mummadi Sora, and Keralantaka Terinda
Parivarattar (servants).
10. Mulaparivara Vitteru (standing army).
11. Singalantaka Terinda Parivarattar (ser-
vants).
12. ^irudanattu Vadugakkalavar.
13. Valangai-Parambadaigalilar.
14-27. Perumdanattu, Sirudanattu, Aragiya-sora-
terinda, Aridurgalanghana, Chandapara-
krama Terinda, Ilaiya Rajaraja Terinda,
Ksatriya Sikhamani Terinda, Raja-Nitta-
vinoda Terinda, Rajakanthirava Murta-
vikramabharana. Raja Terinda, Rajavinoda
Terinda, Ranamukha Bhima Terinda,
Vikramabharana Terinda-Valangai Velaik-
karar. It is not easy to exactly identify
these Velakkara troops. These were largely
drawn from the Right Hand classes. It is
significant that the Left Hand classes do
not figure among the regiments which from
the extensive nature, seem to be a people’s
army. However that may be what inte-
rests us is the term Velakkarar. They were
probably a volunteer corps as has been
ABMY AMD ARMY DIVISIONS
197
suggested, raised temporarily for a certain
contingency. What is more interesting is
that the Velakkara troops are mentioned in
the Mahavamsa and in the service of King
Vijayabahu (A.D. 1065-1120). Here they
were mercenaries raised with a definite
object viz. for an expedition against the
Chola country. In the light of this are we
tempted to identify the Velakkarar of
Rajarajadeva as mercenaries. There is
however no evidence of Rajaraja raising
mercenary troops. His troops were all
regular soldiers. We therefore agree with
the suggestion that originally regular
troops, these Velakkarar, eventually deve-
loped into mercenaries (See S.I.I. H.
p. 10). All were recruited from the Right
Hand classes of the kingdom.
28-29. Keralantaka vasal, and Anukka vasal Tiru-
meykappar (body-guards).
30. Parivara Meykappargal.
31. Palavagai Parampadaigalilar.
Some of these regiments were entrusted with duties
other than military, for example, temple-building and
temple musicians. It is curious to note that all the
eighteen musicians of the temple were recruited from
these regiments. And twelve of them were from the
Velakkara troops. Here is an indication that under the
Chola regime the military helped in the great public
works of the State, even as the army departments and
engineers have been requisitioned in the days of East
India Company for the construction of roads, canals and
railways.
198
WAB IN ANCIEa^T INDIA
SECTION X
UNITS OP THE AEMY
The Hindu army was divided into Patti, Senamukha,
Gulma, Gana, Vaiiini, Prtana, Camu, Anikini, and
Ak^iihinT. These divisions roughly correspond to our
modem battalions, regiments, companies, etc. Of these
the patti meant one chariot, one elephant, three horses
and three footmen. This was the smallest unit of the
army. The next was senamukha, the four arms of the
patti multiplied by three. In this way three sena-
mukhas formed a gulma^^ three gulmas one gaym, three
gams one vdhinl, three vdhinls one prtand, three prtands
one camu, three camus one anikini and ten anlkinls
' formed one aksauhinl. An aksauhinl consisted of 21,870
chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 horses and 1,09,350
fdot-soldiers.^^^
In the Udyoga parva of the Mahdhhdrata there is
a different enumeration of the army units. Mention
is made of send, prtand and vdhinl. Send is a unit
constituting 500 chariots, 500 elephants, 1,500 horses,
and 2,500 foot-men. Ten sends constituted a prtand
and ten prta/nds one vdhini.^^ The Mahdhhdrata
recounts that the two armies of the Pandavas and
Kauravas on the field of Kuruksetra consisted of
eighteen Aki§auhinis of which eleven belonged to the
Kauravas and onfy seven to the Pandavas.^®® In another
place it is said that a patti totalled 250 men. Thrice
136 See Menu’s interpretation of Gulma, VII, 190.
137 See Amarako^ ; II. 536-7. There was then the MahS-
k^auh^I {§iva. T. R. V., 14.47-63).
138 Vd/yoga 155. 22-24.
189 Ibid., 2t!.
ARMY AND ARMY DIVISIONS
199
in number to this was senamukha, and thrice this
number constituted gulma. Three gulmas made up
a gana.^*^ If we consider dispassionately the numericfd
strength of the various forces in the epics, the figures
given strike us as highly incredible. The arbitrary
reckoning of the different units by the multiples of
three is so mechanical that it is on the face of it
unacceptable. In order to increase the magnitude of
the war, the poet has enumerated exaggerated figures.
It must be admitted, however, that there was a system,
a method and a plan in the organisation of the ancient
Hindus, and to this extent they deserve commendation.”'
140 Ibid., 28-29.
141 In this connexion see S. N. Sen, Military Organisation of
the Marathas.
CHAPTER V
DEPARTMENTS OP THE ARMY
SECTION I
WAR COUNCIL
In war, as in all other important affairs of state, the
ancient Hindu king sought and followed the advice of
his ministers. They in their turn employed secret agents,
and managed to keep themselves informed of all the
events and circumstances of which they had to take
account in tendering their counsel.^ It is remarkable
that this was followed up to the twelfth century A.D.,
as is testified by the Banadipika written for a Kerala
king.^ There is, therefore, justification for the remark
that the ancient South Indian kings, who had their
own laws of war (as is evident from the Sangam works
of Tamil literature), slowly but surely adopted the laws
prescribed in early Sanskrit writings. Unaided, it is
said, even a skilled monarch gets into dif&culties. The
aid here referred to is that afforded by ministers.*
Consultation must be held with not more than three, and
the king was to act on the unanimous decision of these
1 Ssnti, 83. 51-3. ’
2 Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 1928.
3 I
: 11 ganti. 112. 19-20.
D-^6
202
WAR IN ANCIENT INDU
three members of the War Council. The chief thing
deliberated upon was the examination of one’s resources
as compared with the resources of the enemy.* The
examination of this particular topic is entitled naya-
viveka, and the policy to be pursued must be rooted in
nUi. Or else even a strong king suffers disgrace at the
hands of a weakling like an elephant stuck in the mud
by fish.®
Bhisma tells Yudhisthira on the authority of the
first law-giver, that victory depends on deliberation and
intelligence.® It is an ancient dictum that the king who is
guided by sagacious councillors attains great success in
his undertakings. Again, in the conversation between
Indra and Brhaspati, the latter says that only after
deliberating with his ministers on the policy to be pur-
sued must the king decide whether to fight or to submit.
It is better to consult only one minister lest the secret
should be divulged, but on special occasions more may
also be consulted. Unanimity on the part of the
councillors is to be desired.’ Ravana discourses on
4 Ch. 1, 21-29. The rules laid down here are only a replica ot
the rules prescribed in the old law books.
5 I
m II 1.5.
6 3 I
II
^ II Santi, 112, 17-9.
7 Santi, 83. The whole chapter is on mantri and mantra.
DEPARTMENTS OP THE ARMY
203
consultation thus ‘ Success depends on proper delibera-
tion. He is alone the superior king who consults wise
men before deciding on war. Counsels are of three
kinds: firstly, those in which the decision of all the
councillors is unanimous at the outset; secondly, those
in which an agreement is reached after a lengthy and
protracted debate; thirdly, those in which decision is
arrived at by mere majority.’ He followed these
8 Yuddha, ch. vi. 5-15.
rWlI JTfI5R5T: II
I
3 I
»R: I ^ II
cqqqr i q:
qw: II
q^3?qi f^Itqfiqqmq^: | ^ ^IqT^Hiqqq^UI
^q»q?qgqFPq ^l^?tq q^qi | qf^oit qq II
q^ q^^^r qf^qoipn^fJitJt^ I
5q; q|q^ qiq: q q^ qWT:^qq: II
31?^ q^iqiqnq qq qqf^q^ |
q %q^ q^: ^sqqrsq^ ||
q^qRgqfNq qi^ qf^qqi: I
qq^ qqf^qqji^^ qq qq II
204
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
principles and held counsel with his advisers before
embarking on war.®
K^andaka says that the king should consult wise
and loyal men versed in military science and grown
grey in experience. According to him^® the power of
deliberation and ministerial advice is decidedly superior
to that of mere brute force. He shows how Brhaspati
by his wisdom overcame the Asuras. We know from
the Puranas how ^ukracarya, the leader of the Asuras,
undertook a severe penance to get at the knowledge of
mrtasanjlvam vidyd or the mantra for restoring to
life persons who had died in the field of battle, seeing
the slaughter of numerous Asuras by the Devas. The
penance over, Sukra returned to his residence but was
not accepted by his followers. For in the meantime
Brhaspati put on the disguise of Sukracarya and placing
the Asuras under a spell of mystification made them
accept him as the true Sukra, while the real Sukra
was made out to be merely one in the disguise of
their acarya. In this way he overcame the Asuras.^^
Kamandaka further enjoins that the king should consult
his council of ministers whenever envoys were sent out to
foreign States. The Harivamsa relates that Jarasandha,
contrary to his own plan, adopted the suggestion of the
king of Cedi, a prominent member of the former’s mili-
tary council.
Did the king always follow the counsel of his
ministers and councillors? It is difficult to answer this
question ; but it may be confidently said that the king
9 Ibid., ch. 13.
10 Kama, 12.7. 13, 1-2. See also Brahm&ndO’PurSm, IV, 21.50.
where the term vicdra is mentioned for this.
11 Matsya Pwdna. 47. 181-205.
DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY
205
generally followed the advice of his councillors, and it
was more or less his duty to do so. There were of
course kings who broke this convention and did as their
will dictated. It would be sufficient to give one example
in support of this statement. Duryodhana’s War
Council included such wise men as Vyasa and Maitreya.^
These councillors advised Duryodhana to make peace with
the Pa^davas, as in their opinion the Pandavas would
ultimately win, but he turned a deaf ear to their words.
From this it would appear that the Council was merely
an advisory body. Its resolution was not binding on
the king.
That such war councils were also held in the
battle-field either on the eve of the battle or during the
course of operations is seen from the Harivamsa}^
When Balarama and Krsna were wandering on the
mountains of Gomanta, Jarasandha who arrived at its
foot held a council to devise steps how best to encounter
them. In Jarasandha ’s opinion, the Generals were to
ascend the mountain fortress and confront the enemy on
all sides. But the king of Cedi, a prominent member of
his war staff, spoke on the futility of such endeavours.
He advised them to set fire to the fortress and thus bring
the enemy to his knees. This was accepted as a wise
policy by all including the king. A huge conflagration
was the result, though it did not ultimately lead to the
subjugation of the enemy. In the war between Lalita
and the Asura Bhanda, war councils were summoned
on both sides.^* In the epoch of the Mauryas the King-
12 Ch. 98.
13 Ch. 98.
14 See Br. Pur^, IV, Ch. 21.
206
WAA IN ANCIENT INDIA
in-council acted as a war cabinet and appointed secret
informants to study the movements of the enemy kings
and report the same to the Head-quarters.^® It has
to be assumed that the war council was a feature of the
Gupta polity considering the nature and value of wars
into which the Gupta emperors plunged themselves.
The term mantrin in the Gupta inscriptions as distinct
from the Amatyas may suggest that the mantrin was a
member of the war council.
Coming to South India, in the Vijayanagar period,
we have the primary evidence of foreign travellers like
Barbosa and Nuniz who testify to the existence of a war
council, which the king consulted before undertaking an
expedition. Barbosa refers to a decision of one such
council (p. 224). Nuniz mentions the coimcil which
Krsnaraya consulted before his march against the
Sultan of Bijapur.^® According to Sewell, however,
there was no separate war council, apart from the
ministers.^^
SECTION n
WAR FINANCE
The special importance of finance in war was
recognized even as early as the Rg Veda, in a hymn in
which Indra is prayed to for the gift of wealth for
maintaining an army. In the MahabJidrata and other
treatises of* later times, much attention is paid to
military finance.
15 Hindu Administrative Institutions, p. 287.
16 A Forgotten Empire, p. 72 and pp. 324-5.
•o/Vl For further details, see T. V. Mahalingam’s Society md
Administration under Vijayanagar, ch. v.
DIFAB'OIENTS OF THE ARMY
207
Among the important heads of military expenditure
in ancient India were the salaries of the soldiers, officers,
and diplomatic agents; the construction and repair of
fortifications; and the purchase of military requisites.
Considerable sums must have been spent as bribes for
securing information, fomenting troubles in the enemy
territory, and other objects.
If we turn to the pages of the Artkasdstra of
Kautalya and also to the records of Greek travellers, we
find the Mauryan public finance anticipated much of the
modern principles regulating revenues and expenditure.
What Shirras gives in his Science of Public Finance
is found in the Mauryan system. In this classification
which is primary and secondary, defence takes the first
place under the primary heads. Army, navy and trans-
port were the important items of military expenditure.
In the Arthamstra, we find details of the pay of the
army from the ordinary soldier to the commander-in-
chie*f. (Bk. V. 3).
* I have followed M. H. Gopal (Mmiryan Public Finance, p. 195.)
The equivalent in modem currency is on the calculation of V. A.
Smith who valued the silver pana as equal to a shilling. If Pliny
is to be believed the Mauryan king had a standing army of 600,000
foot soldiers, 30,000 horse and 9,000 elephants. This alone entailed an
expendiflsre roughly of £ 17,000,000. This does not include the pay
of the army officers such as commander-in-chief and commanders,
the expenses of the fleet, of the armoury and arsenal of the commis-
sariat, and several minor departments which were so many adjuncts
to the Defence department. If these were included, we have to
estimate the defence expenses of the Mauryan State to be several
millions pound sterling. Arrian (Indika, ch. 12) tells us that the
army officials were all paid very liberally. It appears that the
Mauryan government believed in a contented army.
208
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Name of officer.
Pay in panas.
Approximate
equivalent in
1.
Commander-in-chief
48,000
pounds sterling.
2,400
2.
Commander
24,000
1,200
a
Chiefs of —
Elephants
8,000
400
Horses
8,000
400
Chariots
8,000
400
Infantry
8,000
400
4.
Superintendents of —
Infantry
2,000
100
Cavalry
2,000
100
Chariots
2,000
100
Elephants
2,000
100
5.
Charioteer
2,000
100
The army surgeon
2,000
' 100
The trainer of horses
2,000
100
Carpenter
2,000
100
Trainer of other animals 2,000
100
6.
Soldier
500
25
Clerical assistant
500
25
7.
Elephant driver 500 to 1,000
25 to 50
In a Basara seal inscription of the Gupta period we
meet with a very important term : Ranabhanddgdrddhi-
harana}^ There is definite evidence that there was a
separate accounts officer in charge of the military
budget. This is a sure indication that by that time a
distinction was made between the military budget and
the civil budget. Ranabhandagaradhikarana was the
member in charge of military finance.
18 Fleet, Chipia Inscriptions'. Basrah seals. i
DEPARTMENTS Of THE ARMY 209
The BuTtmnlti gives figures relating to the proper
apportionment of military expenditure to be incurred.
We may take the figures as roughly representative of
earlier times as well. The following estimate gives,
according to the treatise, the proportion of the sums
which may be spent on the various items of civil and
military expenditure by a State with an income of
100,000 karsas.^®
Items of expenditure {annual) : —
1.
Personal . .
18,000 karsas
2.
Clerical
1,200
??
3.
Council (perhaps executive) .
3,600
V
4.
Family
3,600
yy
5.
Men of letters
2,400
yy
6.
Cavalry and infantry
48,000
yy
7.
Elephants and other service.
4,800
yy
8.
Savings
18,000
yy
Total
99,600
yy
Further, we are told that a State which has the same
annual income is expected to have the following military
establishment : —
1.
Reserve Soldiers
• • .
. . 100
2.
Infantry men with' guns
. . 300
3.
Cavalrymen . .,
• •<
.. 80
4.
Chariots > ..
• *1
... 3
6.
Guns
(• •!
2
6.
Camels
:. . 10
7.
Elephant’s . .,
'• *1
2
19 tec, IV, 7, 27-29.
20 rV, 7, 24-26.
D— 27
210
WAE IN ANCIENT INDIA
8. Bulls . . . . . 16
9. Clerical staff . . . . 6
10. Higher officers . . . . 3
From the figures^^ we see that military expenditure was
a little more than 50% of the total expenditure of the
State. It may appear at first sight that the high pro-
portion of military expenditure to the total income is an
indication of a heavy burden on the people. But it was
not so felt, since defence and protection were the most
fundamental among the functions of the State.
An idea of the scale of salaries and allowances to
armies has been already furnished. The importance of
regular payment of salaries to soldiers and officers
is insisted on by the Arthamstra writers. Narada
repeatedly speaks to Yudhisthira of its advantages.*^
Sukracarya recommends a handsome pay to the soldiers,
besides occasional allowances. He says that accurate
records with full details as to the caste, age, district,
village, station, period of service, amount of pay and
allowances of the soldiers and officers are to be main-
tained; full pay should be given to those who have
completed the practical course of training and half
pay to the apprentices.*® The case of the soldiers
21 Cp. Niti, p. 85.
22 Mhh. Sabha., V, 48-54.
23 i
DEPARTMENTS OP THE ARMY
211
recruited from t^ie wild tribes was difEerent. Their
soldiers were either paid in raw produce or permitted to
indulge in plunder.^* Trumpet-blowers and servants
were paid each 120 panas.
judged by the then existing standards, when wants
were comparatively few and simple, the scale should be
put down as liberal. But there is evidence to show that
this must have varied according to time and place,
and that no uniform scale of salary was ever in vogue.
It would appear that the pay was proportionate to and
dependent upon the economic condition of the times.
Revision of scales according to the fall or rise of prices
was effected. These statements are made in the light of
a text in the MahahharataP where the pay of a warrior is
mentioned as 1,000 coins per month, whilst in the days
of Kautalya it was a little more than 40 panas. The
importance of this high salary can be realised if we keep
in mind the conditions under which the Mauryas and
afterwards the Guptas extended the limits of their
empires by incessant encounters with the non-monarchi-
cal and republican States. These required a strong force
ever devoted to the king, and the result was a heavy
military expenditure. Compared with the scale of
Kautalya, Sukracarya’s must be considered very low.
Kot only was the pay low but the soldiers were made to
bear the expenses of their clothing.^® One thing must
IV, 7. 391-3; NiU, VI, 313.
24 Ar. Bk. IX, ch. 11.
25 8abh&., 85. 29.
26 rV, 7. 20-21.
212
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
be remembered in this connexion. Sukra's concept of
the State is that of a small State, while Kautalya
envisages an empire {cakravartiksetra)}’’
That the army expenditure was looked upon not as
wasteful but necessary is seen even from the practice of
the later Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara. The Amuktor
malyada of Krsnadevaraya makes a statement to that
effect. (Canto IV, 262). Elsewhere (238) it definitely
states that half the income accruing to the State should
be set apart to maintain the army. According to
Barbosa the pay of a soldier was 4 pardaos, i.e. Rs. 22^
to Rs. 28, and that of a high of&cer Rs. 47, 000.
One item of expenditure on the military side was
war relief to the relatives of deceased soldiers and their
dependents. An undated viragal belonging to the 9th
century in the Durga temple at Hosaholalu near
Bayakura records the giving of such relief to the
relatives of dead soldiers.^ In the Kanarese inscrip-
tions, again, the term kalnattu (also kalnad) stands for
some such war relief.®® We meet with a significant term
in the Vijayanagar inscriptions, Raktakodage, which
proves that war relief generally took the form of
assignment of lands by the State to the family of soldiers
who died in the service of the king.
War loans: Funds for military purposes were
raised in exceptional circumstances. The Mahabhdrata^
. 27 Ar. Sas. Bk. IX. 1.
28 See Sewell, op. cit., p. 283.
29 181 of 1901, S.IJ., vii, p. 245.
30 Ep. Car. XII, p. 111.
31 ^ I
Wqr ^ ii Santi. 71-2.
DEPARTMENTS OP THE ARMY 218
says that in the face of sudden attacks and in the absence
of the necessary wealth in the treasury, a king can
appropriate part of the private property of his wealthy
citizens by levying more taxes. From the same source
we learn that the people who could really afford it
voluntarily contributed towards the expenses of a war,
for it was realised that in the safety of the king or
kingdom lay, the safety of the subjects. Sometimes
recourse was had to loans by the State and these were
returned after the danger was over. The appeal to
funds“ was made in the least offensive but most con-
II Ibid., 87. 35-39.
32 STpt^ 3 WfJprgJlFq |
^ II
3f^l*T|q(^ %qT ^ ^ ^ I
II
I
^i555nTTfeT: ?tI Wt I
214
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
vincingly style. In these ways the State secured the sum
necessary to tide over the crisis.®®
SECTION m
I ' ‘ , . ' ; ’ i
THE ABSENAL
In dealing with the military organization in ancient
India, mention must be made of the arsenal {ayudhd-
gdra). The Kautaliya has a chapter on this.®* There
was a special superintendent over this department,
which also went by the name of Sastrasala. According
to the Visnudharmottara Purdna, whose date of compo-
sition is not yet established, the superintendent was
known as Sastrasdlddhyaksa or merely SastrddJiyaksa.
He should be loyal, vigilant, and able in the discharge of
his duties. His chief ability consisted in discriminating
the five kinds of weapons.®® The chief business tran-
II ^nti, 87, 26-34.
33 ^ ^ i
II Santi, 87. 23-24.
34 Ar. SOs. Bk. II. 18.
35 Quoted in Lak^naprakSaa (Viramitrodaya), pp. 224-5.
DBPABTMENTS OP THE ARMY
215
sacted by this department was the manufacture of arms
and armour and other accessories. Here again skilled
workmen and mechanics of all grades were employed at
fixed wages to do the work.
Various kinds of weapons were manufactured and
kept in proper places. These weapons included arma-
ments used in war in defending or destroying buildings,
forts, and citadels. These consisted of movable engines,
of which twenty-six varieties are mentioned. Five kinds
of arrows and four kinds of bows with their various
accessories were produced. Again, eleven varieties of
Jialdmukha (ploughshare), three kinds of swords with
various types of handles,®^ seven kinds of razorlike wea-
pons,®® four or five kinds of stones®® are given. To these
was added the manufacture of a variety of armour of
iron and leather, both for war animals and for the
warrior. Ornaments for animals and chariots, goads
and hooks and other appliances were also made and
kept in stock. Kautalya prescribes various rules^® with
regard to the storage of weapons and armour. They
were to be frequently examined, cleaned and exposed to
the light of the sun. Weapons liable to be damaged by
heat or cold or even by worms were to be kept with
I Ar. Sds. Ibid.
37 ^iTT: I Ibid.
38 I
39 I md.
40 Ar. Sds. Bk. II. 18.
S16
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
particular care. Registers were to be mamtained in
which were entered details as to the shape, size, value,
number, and name of every weapon manufactured and
distributed. And it was for the Superintendent, who
may be equated with the mbdern Master of Supply, to
see that an adequate number of weapons and other
implements of war was always kept in stock.
Bhisma says^^ that kings desirous of victory should
manufacture a variety of arms and armour both for
animals like elephants and bulls, and for soldiers. The
armour for animals must be made of durable leather so
as to afford protection against cuts or thrusts from bones,
thorns, or other keen-edged objects. The arms consisted
of well-tempered iron weapons of all sorts and sizes. It
is also said that swords, lances, standards of different
hues, coats of mail, yak tails, banners, battle-axes,
spears, shields, bells and other instruments were to be
made in enormous quantities and housed in their
respective places in the store room.
The Milindapanha mentions three separate indus-
tries dealing with the manufacture of bows, arrows, and
other weapons of warfare.^*
41 mm ^ ^ I
^ II
lUTcrfWf TOJ: |
5 II
gWT: I
II Santi. 100, 7-8.
42 C.H.L, i, p. 205.
DEPARTMENTS OP THE ARMY
217
The compiler of the Agnipurdna realised the neces-
sity for a good and well furnished armoury. According
to him an empty arsenal is itself an indication of
the deficient system of defence, thus implying that
for a king to offer a strong front to the enemy a good
supply of arms is essential. In conclusion, the arsenal
was a department of the State and no individual or firm
could manufacture arms.
SECTION rv
FOREIGN DEPARTMENT
From the inter-tribal relations of earliest times the
evolution was to inter-state relations and finally to
international relations. The early epoch of the Vedas
bears evidence of inter-tribal relations. It is therefore
impossible to trace in Vedic literature anything like a
separate war department. That such a department
existed in the epic age — the age of inter-state relations —
is again a matter of inference. We have no express
mention of a foreign department either in the Bdmdyami
or in the Mahdhhdrata. The conception of a circle of
states which is so elaborately described in the Kautaliya
would mean the existence of an elaborate foreign office
to realize the ends of the state. This receives corro-
boration from the records of Megasthenes. During the
epoch of the Guptas there was a foreign office. The
office of the foreign minister was distinct from that
of the minister of peace. In the Allahabad Pillar
Inscription of Samudragupta there occur two terms,
Sandhivigraha and MahdsandhivigraJia, besides Saciva.
The first was minister of peace and war, and the second
was an officer superior to Sandhivigraha. Harisena
D— 28
218
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
was foreign minister to the emperor Samudragupta.*®
Candragupta II also had a minister for foreign affairs.
The keynote of foreign policy was the maintenance
of the balance of power. Students of English History
will recall to their minds the reign of Henry VIII, whose
famous foreign minister, Thomas Wolsey, pursued a
similar policy in dealing with continental powers. This
power was realised in ancient India by the excellent
device of forming a circle of states. Ancient India was
composed of a number of small states, each with a
chieftain or a king at its head. Most of these were
military chiefs and some of them , stood in terms of
subordinate alliance. Their relations were international
in the sense that the obligations between one State and
another were all matters of special covenant agreed to
by the sovereign authority in each. In this respect it
resembles the political conditions of ancient Greece.
George Grote, the historian, writes “ The relation
between one city and another was an international
relation, not a relation subsisting between members of a
common political aggregate ”. This means that an
Athenian citizen could not contract inter-marriage or
acquire landed i^roperty in the next city of Corinth. A
similar state of affairs prevailed in ancient India.
Foreign affairs seemed to have been carried out on the
principle, “ never despise an enemy nor trust a friend,”
which is preached also in Buddhist works like the
Jatakas.*®
43 Fleet, Corpus, 46. Cp. Santi, 85. 30 ; Agni Purana, 239. 8.
44 Vol. Ill, p. 259.
4$ Vol. II, p. 165.
DEPARTMENTS OP THE ARMY
219
If the officials who manned the ship of the foreign
office had not possessed the requisite strength and will,
the working of the above policy in actual practice could
not have been realised.
SECTION. V
INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT
The Intelligence Department can well be taken to be
a sub-department of the War Office. The employment
of intelligencers and spies for both civil and military
purposes was a regular feature in ancient Indian States.
These men were set to reconnoitre the enemy country
and report to the king on the military strength of the
enemy, furnish information as to suitable sites for camps
and battle-fields. The chief officials of this department
were ambassadors and spies. In a subsequent chapter
these will be treated sejjarately and elaborately. The
ambassadorial system and the system of espionage,
especially the latter, must have cost the State a good
dea,!. The documents mention a number of spies con-
stantly in service, in and outside the State, besides
regular institutes of espionage of which as many as five
types are mentioned. Hence the establishment charges
incurred by the State on these two institutions must have
amounted to a considerable sum. The Caras attained so
much importance that, in one place, in the Mahabkdrata
they figure as one of the eight angas of an army.^® In
an earlier sloka it is said that Oara is vividhopaya,*^
meaning that he takes different disguises to find out
46 ^5nti, 58, 41. Both terms Cara and CSra are used.
47 Ibid., 34 : See also Agni Purdm, 241.12.
220
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
correct information about the position of the enemies of
the king.
SECTION VI
ARMY OFFICERS
From the epoch of the Bg Veda Samhita the
Commander-in-Chief occupied a place very nearly equal
to that of the king. Under a confederacy of tribes, the
office of the General, the ‘ Great War Soldier ’ makes its
first appearance. The office sprang from the military
necessities of society and had a logical development . . .
from the great War Soldier of the Iroquois through the
Teactli of the Aztecs, to the Basileus of the Grecian and
the Rex of the Roman tribes, among all of whom, the
office was the same, namely that of a general in a
military democracy.^® In Vedic literature he is known
! as sendnl. He often assisted the Vedic king who led the
host in person to the battle-field. There was another
i military official, the grdmanl, who was probably in
charge of a minor portion of the host.^® The Senani tops
the list of the Rajakrts or king-makers, who came to be
known in later Vedic times as Ratnins or recipients of
Ratnahavis.®® It is not possible to accept fully the view
that the grammni was the leader of a troop. He was
probably more a civil than a military officer. In the
Buddhist literature the Senani is a member of the
A§takula.
48 Morgan: Ancient Society, pp. 149-50.
49 Vol. I, p. 95.
50 Sat. Br, Y, 3-1; Taitt. Sam. 1-8-9; K. P, Jayaswal: Hindu
PoUty, ii, pp. 16 ff; Ghoshal: Hindu Political Theories, p. 38.
DBPARTMENTS OF THE ABMY 221
When we pass on to the epoch of the Epics,
we notice a slight change in the title. The Senani
becomes the Senapati.®^ Next to him in rank were
Senapra^etaras.®* Each of these was the commander of
one Aksauhini. In the battle of Kuruksetra, Drupada,
yirata and Dhrstadyumna, Sikhandin, Satyaki, Ceki-
tana, and Bhimasena were respectively leaders of the
seven aksauhinis of the Pandava host. From among
themselves one was selected by the War Council to be
Commander-in-Chief. A great discussion ensued, and
finally Dhrstadyumna was chosen. On the other side
Bhisma became the senapati.®® The election of the
senapati over, it was the practice of the elected candidate
to address a few words to the War Council presided
over by the king. Bhisma ’s address to the War Council
of Duryodliana may be cited as an illustration. He says :
“ I offer my prayers to Devasenapati Subrahmanya
and accept with pleasure the responsibility of the chief
commander thrown upon me to-day. Being versed in
the art and science of war I know how to direct soldiers
of different grades, bhrtan and abhrtan. Know me to
be Brhaspati in both strategical and tactical modes of
warfare. I am versed in all kinds of military arrays,
Daiva, Gandharva, and Manu^. I shall use them
against the Pandavas. Oh I King, give up all fear. I
shall fight the enemy and protect your army. Let thy
heart's fever be dispelled.”®*
51 §anti, 85.31.
52 TJdyoga Parva, 151.5.
53 Ibid., 151, 3-8 and 156, 10-13.
64 fJTRR |
3(5 qfSR|(4( ^ I)
222
WAR IN ancient INDIA
Once elected General, the senapati had full and com-
plete control over the situation. The direction of the
campaigns, encountering and withdrawing, were all in
his hands. It would appear that he had his own
war cabinet in which his immediate lieutenants were
members. Thus we notice in the Bamayana that Pra-
hasta, the senapati of the Raksasa host, had four
sacivas — Narantaka, Kumbhahanu, Mahanada and
Samunnata — who were also his lieutenants in the battle-
field.®®
Though the designation of senapati continued to be
used in later times, it came to be loosely ai)plied to
military ofiScials other than the Commander-in-Chief.
For example, Kautalya speaks of a Nayaka as the head
of ten senapatis. Surely the term senapati here cannot
mean Commander-in-Chief. At the same time, he fixes
the pay of the senapati at 48,000 panas, and that of the
Nayaka at 12,000. Surely the senapati here stands for
Commander-in-Chief. The term is used largely and
loosely in the Gupta and Pala inscriptions.®® In ah
^ II
3I: ^ ^ I
^ ^ II
^ ii
^ m II Ibid., Ch. 165, 7-lL
55 Yuddha. 57, 30-31; 58, 19.
56 Fleet; Corpus, pp. 167-8.
DEPAETMENTS OP THE ARMY
2513
inscription we meet with the epithet Mahasendpati,^’’ and
this may lend support to the view that by senapati we
may not altogether mean the General-in-Chief.
The qualifications expected of a Commander-in-Chief
were many-sided. He was normally a Ksatriya. Some-
times members of the Brahman caste were chosen
to fill that responsible post. Pusyamitra Sunga was
the Senapati of the last Maurya king, Brhadratha.
Generally persons who were versed in the Vedas and
equally proficient in the practice of arms were appointed.
Though Vaisyas and Sudras were debarred, still Sukra
would select this officer from any caste, if he happened
to be a sura or a great hero.'*® Other qualifications were
as follows : ‘ A native of the land, versed in the theory
and practice of counsel, in dandaniti, possessing virtuous
qualities of heroism, energy and manliness, large-hearted
and generous, a student of the sastras, one who has few
or no enemies but many friends and relatives, self-
confident, and of towering personality, one fully
acquainted with the actions of the four-fold forces of
spies and scouts, skilled in all modes of warfare, one who
is a linguist, and who has travelled to foreign countries
and fully acquainted with the routes and roads therein,
a diplomat, one who evokes confidence from his own
troops, one who can fight the enemy and protect his own
army, who is able to detect fraud and disguises of spies
and messengers, and ever loyal to his country.’®®
Weighed by strategic considerations, he must be able to
57 Ibid., p, 252.
58 ^ 5lTj%5 II n- 434.
59 Kama. 18, 26-42; 19. 31-40.
224 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
order either advance or retreat.®® To these the &iva
Tattva Batndkara adds ‘ economical in expenditure
The senapati shouldered heavy responsibilities. He
was answerable to the king and his council. Victory or
defeat rested with him. On the eve of the outbreak of
hostilities, the Commander-in-Chief brought full satis-
faction to the army by rewards and honours and
encouraged them thus : ‘ He who slew the enemy king
would be awarded one lac of panas, he who slew the
senapati and kumara, 50,000 panas, and he who slew
other chiefs 10,000 panas and for slaying an elephant or
chariot warrior 5,000 panas. It was an additional
inducement for the warriors to fight to the end.
In the same strain Bhisma speaks to Yudhisthira.
Gathering together the leading warriors, they should be
addressed thus: ‘Those of your warriors who break the
ranks of enemies or rally your retreating soldiers should
have their pay doubled and should be honoured by you
with food, drink, and seats equal to your own. The
head of ten soldiers amongst them should be made the
head of a hundred. And the careful hero who is the
head of a hundred soldiers should be made the head of a
thousand. Let us swear to conquer and never leave one
60 Ar. ^ds., Bk. X. 3.
61 V. 15. 57-9.
62 1 1
I I
^ I ’itnfcioq 11 Ar. Bk. X, 3.
DEPARTMENTS OP THE ARMY
225
another.^*® In other words, ‘Conquer or die, and
conquer we must ’ was the slogan. The prospect of
promotion and honours was a great inducement for the
sacrifice on the part of the patriotic and brave soldier.
Thus the Commander-in-Chief, differently known as
Pradhana Senapati, Sarvasenapati and Mahasenapati,
was the head of the military department of the State.
His primary duty lay*^ in attending to the training and
efficient organisation of the army and in enforcing
discipline. Though he was invested with the status of
a high minister, he was not a member of the council, if
we are to rely on the authority of the NUivdkydmrta^
and the ^ukranlti where this officer does not figure in
the list of ministers. He occupied the key position in
a campaign and his success or defeat decided the fate
of the engagement. Hence it is ruled that the soldier
who killed a Commander-in-Chief, or captured him
alive, would earn the name of a hero and would be
entitled to all honours.®®
63 ^ M ^ \
m II
m I
m ii
Santi. 100, 30-32 (Trans. Dutt).
64 Cp. the Vimudharmottara quoted in Laksanaprakasa,
pp. 233 f.
65 Ch. X.
66 Santi, 98. 68-9.
D— 29
SS6
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
It is pertinent to ask whether the Commander-in-
Chief was a permanent officer of the State, or was
appointed whenever a war broke out and held office to
the end of that campaign. Evidence is in favour of
both. Bhisma and Dhrstadyumna, generalissimos respec-
tively of the Kaurava and Pandava hosts, were appointed
by the war council on the eve of the Kuruksetra battle
and relinquished their offices after the campaign was
over. But Kautalya makes him a permanent officer on
a pay of 48,000 panas. This shows that both practices
were in vogue in ancient India.
The Kumara : As the State grew in power, extent,
and importan'ce, a regular hierarchy of officers featured
the army organization. In early times, along with the
king and the Senani went the Kumara or Crown Prince
to the field of battle. In the legendary description of
the battle of Bhanda with Lalita, it is said that Kumari,
a daughter of Jjalita, accompanied her and offered to
fight the Asura host, though she was young. She fought
and won it.®^ It is doubtful whether the Kumara
occupied a status higher or lower than the Senani in the
hierarchical grade of military officials. A recent writer
takes the view that the position of the Kumara was
probably inferior to that of the senapati, for in the
passage of Kautalya®® Kumara is mentioned after the
Commander-in-Chief.®® This view may be adopted in
the light of the scale of salaries fixed for the Kumara
which is one-fourth of that fixed for the Senapati. The
pay of the Kumara was 12,000 panas; but the NUi-
67 Br. Purana, IV, ch. 26. *
68 Bk. X, 3.
69 H. C. Ray. op. cit., pp. 58-59.
DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY
227
prakdsa assigns to the Commander-on-Chief a rank
below the Crown Prince.
Saciva: A noted member of the War Office was
the Saciva. A number of Sacivas formed the War
Council of a Commander-in-Chief. Reference has
already been made to the Sacivas of Prahasta in the
Bamayana.^'^ Besides tendering advice on the move-
ments and operations of their army, they accompanied
him to the battle-field and seconded his actions, just like
the Purohita seconding the efforts of the king. In the
fight of Lalita with the Asura Bhanda, her army was
composed of women who went by the name of Saktis.
Lalita had two important officers, Sridanclanatha, the
chief Commander, and Srirnantrinatha or simply
Mantrini. The latter analysed the situation of the army
as well as that of the enemy then and there, and reported
to her chief, Lalita. She also advised her as to the
course of action to be taken. Lalita invariably followed
her advice, which was given in consultation with the
Bandanatha. The Mantrini even took part in the actual
operations of the war.^^
A Saciva was probably the minister of peace
and war,^^ who is known in later inscriptions as Sandhi-
vigrahika. According to the Udayagiri inscription of
Candragupta II Saciva Virasena, who was the Minister
of Peace and War, also accompanied the king to
the battle-field.^® Only a highly qualified person was
70 Yuddha, 57, 31.
71 See Br. Purina, IV, ch. 26.
72 See Sukra, pp. 78-79 ; Santi, 59, 67-8; Manu, VII, 160-61;
Agni Pur&m, 220, 3-5.
73 Fleet, pp. 35-36.
228
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
appointed as Sandhivigrahika. He should be well
versed in all aspects of ^adgunya, expert in all languages
of his country and above all skilled in the modes of
policy (naya), a term of much political importance in
Hindu political literature.’* In the Yijayanagar epoch
he was known as Sarvasainyadhikari, while a minister
of war was known as a Dalavay.’®
OTHER OFFICERS
The schedule of military officers was, by no means
uniform. According to one calculation the Pattipala
was the leader of 5 or 6 foot-soldiers. The Gaulmika
was the head of thirty footmen. Both these officials
also supervised watchmen especially on night duty.
Both Satanika and Anusatika are said to be leaders of
one hundred warriors. The Anusatika must have been
an intermediary official between the Satanika and the
Gaulmika. Sahasranika was the officer in charge of
1,000 foot-soldiers, and Ayuktika of 10,000 warriors. All
these officers belonged to the infantry corps. The
iSatanika had the additional function of drilling soldiers
in military exercises both in the morning and in the
evening.’® According to the Sukranlti the Nayaka was
in charge of twenty elephants or twenty horses. All the
officials were distinguished by appropriate uniforms-
In the Mahdhhdrata we see another schedule of
military officers. There were officers in charge of a
platoon of ten, a troop of a hundred, and a battalion of
74 Visnudhar, quoted in LaksamprakSia, p. 231.
75 Ep. Car., XI, Dv. 29.
76 §ukra, II, 137-48. See Dikshitar: Hindu Administrative
Institutions, p. 311.
DEPARTMENTS OP THE ARMY
229
a thousand men/^ corresponding to modern sergeants,
captains, colonels, etc. The Arthasdstra seems to
follow the epic in this pai^ticular, when it speaks of a
Padika in charge of ten soldiers, of ten Padikas being
under a Senapati, and ten Senapatis under a Nayaka.”^*
But there is a considerable difference between the epic
and the Arthasdstra. The latter furnishes a scientific
division of the officers into grades. The Senapati was
not in charge of 100 soldiers, as the epic would have it.
But he was in charge of Padikas. In the same way
the Senapatis were answerable to the Nay aka. This is
a graded system of officials quite workable in practical
administration.
It seems more reasonable to suppose that there was
an officer in charge of every unit of the army. The
Pattipa or Pattipfila was an officer in charge of a patti,
which consisted of one elephant, one chariot, one horse,
aiid five footmen. Next was the military officer in
charge of a Senamukha, which had a total of thirty, of
which 15 were foot-soldiers. The Guhnapa or Gaulmika
was the leader ol 90 men, 45 of whom were infantry,
27 were cavalry men, and 9 in charge of elephants
and of chariots. Next came the officer who was the
leader of a gana of 270 men. Next in rank was the
Vahinipati who was in charge of 81 elephants, the same
number of chariots, 243 horsemen, and 405 foot-soldiers.
The Rdmdyana^^ in one place calls Prahasta, Rava]^a’s
77 ^ti, 100, 32.
q^^ II Bk. X. 6.
79 Yuddha. 57-12.
230
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
General, Vahinipati. Perhaps he was elevated to the
rank of Generalissimo on the eve of the Rama-Rava^a
yuddha. Above the Vahinipati was the officer in charge
of the unit that went by the name of Prtana consisting
of 2,430 warriors. Still above him in rank was the
Camupati in charge of 729 chariots and elephants, 2,187
horsemen, and 3,645 infantry. Among the military
officials who figure in the Gupta inscriptions is one
Camupa, equated with Dandabhinatha. Perhaps this
was the officer in charge of the Camu unit of the army.
Above the Camupa was the officer in charge of Anikini,
and still above him in rank was the army officer who was
the leader of an aksauhini. This officer is styled Sena-
prenatar'a in the Mahdbharata. There is no authority
in our literary works to warrant such a gradation of
officers. But we have ventured to conjecture that a
similar grade of officers over the different units of the
army existed in ancient India.
It we analyse the mass of Gupta inscriptions we
notice different grades of military officers. These are
Senapati, Mahasenapati, Baladhyaksa or Baladhikrta,
and MahabalMhyaksa or Mahabaladhikrta. It is diffi-
cult to assign any graded rank to these four offices.
From the commentary of Kullukabhatta on Manu®* it
can be gathered that a Baladhyaksa was the controlling
officer of ten senapatis. Besides, there were the com-
mandants of infantry and cavalry (Bhatasvapati) and
of elephants (Katuka).*^ We have already noticed the
Camupa and Ranabhandagaradhikarana. Another offi-
cer belonging to the War Office was Sandhi vigraha
80 VII, 189.
81 For some of these terms see Harsacanita.
DEPARTMENTS OP THE ARMY 231
or Mahasandhivigraha. The latter is equated with
Dutaka. But until more satisfactory evidence is found,
this equation will remain tentative and cannot be
accepted as conclusive. But it is more reasonable to look
for the identification of Sandliivigraha with the ancient
officer of Saciva answering to our modern Foreign
Secretary. The literal meaning of the term connotes
that he was the Minister of Peace and War. Apparently
Mahasandhivigraha was the President of the War
Office.
Thus we notice that with the passage of time the
department of war grew, and if the Greek reports
are to be relied upon, the organisation reached its
perfection in the epoch of the Mauryas.^^ According
to Megasthenes, as we have seen, the control and the
organisation of the army and navy were under an
efficient staff of six boards consisting of 30 Commis-
sioners in all. Five members constituted each board.
The boards were in charge of cavalry, infantry, ele-
phants, chariots, admiralty, and commissariat. Most of
the offices continued to remain the same though different
designations were given to them in different periods.
SECTION vn
NON-MILITARY OFFICERS
Besides the various military officials there were
other officers and servants who were non-combatants
but were attached to the War Office of the army on the
march, especially the department of transport and
co-ordinate supply. There was first the Purohita®* who
82 The Mauryan Polity, pp. 193-4. 83 AV. Bk. X, 18.
232
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
went with the king to the field of battle accompanied by
astrologers and soothsayers. Most of these were experts
in Atharvan lore and consequently in reading bird-
omens and other impending portents. In order to
prevent misfortune, propitiatory ceremonies were gone
through. The Purohita encouraged the soldiers on the
eve of the battle and inspired them with new spirit and
enthusiasm.^ The Saciva was a non-combatant officer
who went to the field of action with the king. Physicians,
surgeons, carpenters, and other artisans came under this
category of non-combatant officials. There was the
Mahanasa, the head-cook in charge of rations and food
supply. There were war musicians with their drums
and gongs to encourage the troops to fight with greater
vigour and energy. Yet another official was the Pra-
sasta,* in charge of sappers, miners and engineers
(Vardhaki and Visti) who marched in advance, repair-
ing roads and digging wells wherever necessary. He
was also engaged in raising or pulling down fortifications
and in erecting camps.
CONCLUSION
Thus the ancient Indian organisation of the army
was efficient and excellent.®® If it was not efficient,
84 Ar. Sds. Bk. Ill, 3.
85 I
II Bk. X, 1.
86 Speaking of the military organisation of Candragupta
Maurya, V. A. Smith remarks; "It shows no trace of Hellenic
influence. It is based on ancient Indian model and his vast host
was merely a development of the considerable army maintained by
the kingdom of Magadha.” {Early History of India, p. 153).
DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY
283
would it have been possible for Candragupta Maurya to
expel the Macedonian chieftains from India, and to
defeat Seleukos ; for Bindusara to effect the conquest of
the Dekkan and South India; for Asoka to maintain
diplomatic alliances with forest tribes and far-off
nations; for Samudragupta to make a digvijaya of all
India and for Harsa to conquer and maintain a vast
empire?
I>~80
CHAPTER VI
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR
SECTION I
INTRODUCTORY
We have already seen that ancient Hindu wars
were generally of two kinds — Dharmayuddha and Kuta-
yuddha, just and unjust wars. This is an arbitrary
division from both the moral and religious standpoints.
Another division, we have noticed, was three-fold —
dharmavijaya, asuravijaya and lobhavijaya. Yet another
division was daiva, manusa and asura, according to the
weapons used. Here daiva and asura seem to some extent
to belong to the realm of mythology. The devasura wars
come imder this head. Men of the epic age indulged to
some extent in the asura modes of war; and one chief
feature of this asura war was the larger use of machines
or mechanical contrivances which resulted in wholesale
slaughter. The manusa kind of war was the only
accepted one. Yet another division of wars is seen in
the Mdnavadharmasdstra — land fights, hdl and forest
fights, and sea fights.^
We shall, for the purpose of our present study, bring
all wars under three heads. These are land warfare,
naval warfare, and aerial warfare. Some may feel
sceptic about aerial wars in ancient India; but the
scepticism vanishes into thin air if the material avail-
able is properly analysed and studied. This may be
regarded as the asura element in the manusa war ; but
we shall see more of this in the sequel.
1 MfinavadhamaiiSstra, VII, 192.
286
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Land fights, then, occupy our foremost attention.
Before the beginning of the Christian era, land fights
were the rule, and sea and aerial fights were the excep-
tion. Land fights generallj^ included wars in the plain
country, forests and hill regions, though it is to be noticed
that the law-giver, Manu, makes a distinction between
battles on the plains and those on the hills and forests.
There is yet another recommendation of the law-giver,
that as far as possible wars should be fought away from
cities and villages, and on the edge of forest regions.
This was due to two reasons. One was not to disturb
normal civilian life. /The other was the strategic
advantage of scoring a victory without much fighting
and shedding of blood. * Hill wars were not frequent.
.Wherever the capital city was a citadel, it was besieged
and taken by storm. Siege warfare was a land fight.
The Dasarajya yuddha of the Eg Veda is an example
of a war on the plains in very early times. In
the later heroic age, the battle at Kuruksetra between
the Pandavas and the Kauravas was a land fight where
strategy and tactics were used to the utmost degree on
both sides and which well deserves to be called an
example of a tactical war. Alexander’s battle with the
Indian king, Porus, may be cited as an instance of a
land battle where strategic skiU was employed in a large
measure.
We do not propose to go into the details of these
wars, but shall proceed to an examination of the employ-
ment of strategy and tactics in them. Henderson says
that strategy, according to the official text-book of the
British Infantry, is the art of bringing the enemy to
battle, while tactics are the methods by which a com-
mander endeavours to over-reach the enemy when battle
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR 237
is joined.® He holds that the end of strategy is the
pitched battle. In fact every battle that was fought in
ancient India was a pitched battle in the sense that it
was elaborately arranged for by both the contending
parties. If an invader resolved on an invasion of a
neighbouring state and made satisfactory arrange-
ments to that effect, he dispatched an ambassador to the
enemy king, giving due notice of his resolution and thus
giving him time to make his own arrangements for
defence. Rama sent Angada to Ravana on this account.
The arrangements on either side consisted of repairs of
fortifications, if necessary, storing of foodstuffs and
arms and their accessories, and securing that the food
supplies should never fail.® vThe function of spies and
scouts in warfare was to gather correct information on
the strength of the enemy, to win over his people and
officials by bribes, and to bring about dissensions between
him and hi;; feudatories ; and is discussed in a subsequent
chapter. This is the use of artifice, stratagem, or
finesse in carryirg out any project. With these preli-
minaries and witli particular care about his transport
and the commissariat, the invader lay in wait for an
opportunity to attack the enemy.*
SECTION n
STRATEGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
THE MARCH
The actual march of the enemy is regulated by short
2 Science of War, Ch. II.
3 Ar. Sas. XII, 3; ^dnti, 120, 25.
4 Ibid., Bk. IH, 4.
238
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
and long halts^ well provided with commissariat, supplies
and transport and communication facilities. There are
two kinds of march. It may be a slow march when the
invader feels that his offensive equipment is not strong
enough to break up the enemy, or again when the enemy
is making negotiations for peace. Otherwise he may
make a quick or even a forced march.® In the expedi-
tions undertaken the element of time played a prominent
part. The month of Margasirsa (December) is generally
recommended for long marches and Caitra (March-
April) for short distances.® But though this was the
rule, there were exceptions. In case the conquering
monarch found it advantageous to lead an expedition
irrespective of the season, then he should do so.’^ But
it is the prescription of the Arthasdstra, corroborated by
the Kdmandaklya and the Agnipurdna, that during the
hot season only asses, camels, and horses were to be used,®
in preference to elephants. The dewy season alone was
fit for the use of elephants in marching. But a wise
king is asked to avoid battle during the summer and
rainy seasons.®
The Nayaka led the army while the Senapati
guarded the rear. If the road on the route of the march
was sufficiently broad, it was recommended that the front
ranks should march in a crocodile-like (makara) order,
and the rear in a cart-like order, both flanks marching
5 Agni. Ch. 242.
6 Mhh. V, 83, *7.
7 Ibid., xii, 100, 9; Manu, vii, 182.
8 Ar. ^ds. p. 365; Kama. p. 287; Agni. p. 377.
9 §ukra. p. 238. For a description of the Mahratta army ott
the move see Broughton: Letters from a Maratha Camp, describing
Scindhia’s army on the march.
V-
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR
289
in a diamond-like array. But if the march lay through
a narrow path, the army was to move in pin-like (suci)
order. These, in modern literature, are explained as
perpendicular and parallel or flank marches. The march
was undertaken only after the roads had been examined
! and cleared of thorns and shrubs.^® Conditions then were
quite different from what they are to-day. Even on the
f march the army went arranged in battle order. This was
undoubtedly in order to meet a sudden attack. It might
be that the enemy would make a surprise attack on the
route; and if the army marched with no order or in an
irregular order, it would not be possible to face the
enemy effectively.
If, during the course of the march (dandamarga,
as it was known in later Vijayanagar),^^ rivers and canals
were to be crossed, this was ordinarily done with the help
of elephants which, being heavy animals, would withstand
the current. Or they were forded over by boats and
canoes. Or again wooden and other bridges were thrown
over with the aid of skilled engineers. But if in fording
the enemy placed obstruction by throwing missiles
from the other side, the invader should withdraw from
the place and seek another favourable fording point to
cross without the enemy’s knowledge. Yet another regu-
lation was that the army must not be made to feel fatigue
or irksomeness during the ,ioumey. Above all, attention
was dravTi to the base of operations, for much of the
success depended on maintaining communication with ii
A river or mountain fortress was regarded as the best
base.*®
10 Ar. Sds. Bk. X, 2. 11 Ep. Ind. 19, 133-34.
12 Ar. l§&s. Bk. X, 2.
240
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
How an army marched with its different units is
described in detail in the Agnipurdna}^ First came the
van^ard forces with their leader known as the Nayaka.
The purpose of an advance guard was to gather intelli-
gence as regards the movements of the enemy. European
History furnishes us with examples of generals who used
and sometimes did not use this section of the army. Its
use depended on the size of the army. Generals like
iNapoleon who took forces numerically strong made use
of these, while those like Frederick the Great who com-
manded smaller numbers, did not find much use for it.
In the middle of the line, besides the treasury and the
women, were the king riding on a chariot or an elephant
and also the front ranks of the army composed of picked
men, well trained in all branches of warfare. The less
brave and the less trained were placed behind in the
rear. The flanks of the army in march were protected
by horsemen, charioteers and elephant-men in successive
order, so that they would not be attacked from the sides.
And beyond the elephants marched the forest tribes
recruited for the campaign. In the rear went the
i Commander-in-Chief. Whenever the troops retired for
^rest, sentinels and scouts were posted as picket guards in
different directions to raise alarm at any surprise attack
by the enemy.
With favourable omens and in the Uttara Phalguni
Naksatra auspicious for the march', Rama set out with’
his forces towards the citadel of Lanka. Nila was the
Nayaka leading the vanguard and surveying the route,
which lay through an undulating tract of land and which'
required the boldness and talents of a tried general to
13 Ch. 242, 1-18.
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR 241
march through it. The march was through a region
affording supplies of fruit, water and foodstuffs. Strong
and well-disciplined monkey soldiers like Gaya, Gavaya,
and Gavaksa occupied the front ranks. Rsabha took up
the right wing, whilst Gandha and Gandhamadana held
the left wing, and Rama and Laksmana marched in the
middle. Powerful commanders like Jamba van and
Susena took up the command of the rear guard. Crossing
rivers and marching up hill and down dale, the forces
reached the shores of tlie ocean and encamped in three
divisions. Bold and faithful monkey warriors like
Mainda and T)vida served as pickets so as to give cover
to the troops by patrolling, reminding us of Frederick
the Great’s campaign of 1760, celebrated for its fine
marches and manoeuvres.
SECTION in
THE CAMP
The next strategical point to be considered by the
commander was the encampment. It is called in the
Puranas and epics Skanddvdra,^^ and in the inscriptions
of Vijayanagar Kanddcdra}^ Generally thickly wooded
spots were selected for the disposition of the troops. The
best ground^"^ for entrenching horses is a level plain with
no rocks and covered only with a few trees, and not
’ 14 Carlyle : Frederick the Great.
15 Br. Pur. III. 49.9; Rama. VI. 42.22.
16 Rice: Mysore Gas. I, p. 579; Ep. Car. XI, 24. But the
Hariharacaturanga, a work of this period, mentions the term
Skandavara for a camp (Bk. VI).
17 Mhh. Udyoga: 152, 1, 2; Ar. Sas. Bk. X. 4; S.T.R. v.
14.25.9.
D~31
H2
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
muddy j for chariots, a well-laid road, devoid of sand or
mud, trees, shrubs, etc. ; for elephants, one without mud
or having a layer of sharp gravel ; and for infantry and
others, one free from all defects, but with available
supplies of drinking water. It should be broad and free
from thorns. The camp^® was usually quadrangular in
shape, furnished with four entrances, six roads and nine
divisions and with walls, towers and ditches thrown
round so as to afford a defence in times of danger. This
is illustrated from Bharata’s camp on the banks of the
Ganges on the eve of his meeting Rama and from those
of the Pandavas and the Kurus on the eve of the Great
War. There were separate grounds for the drill and
exercise of soldiers. Every division of the army was
housed comfortably in inner apartments erected for
the purpose. Honest and loyal men were posted to
watch the movements of the enemy. It is said that
eighteen divisions of sentinels should daily change their
watches in turn. Outside the camp and at a distance
from it, forest men should be posted in circular arrays.
Even during the hours of the rest the king must be armed,
always ready for action. Around the camp, again, secret
pits were dug up and covered with thorns, nails, pikes
and such other things as would cause hurt to those
entering the camp from outside. The cavalry soldiers
were generally selected as scouts and as pickets to pre-
set the supply department, and to guard depots of stores
of all kinds. It is recommended that other available
camping grounds should be such as to place the
enemy at a disadvantage. In the camps, drinking,
gambling and other social enjoyments were prohibited.
IS Kama. 16, 6-13; Mhh, Bhtsma, I, 1-15.
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR
243
and for men coming in and going out of the camp a
system of passports^^* was maintained in order to distin-
guish them from the enemy’s spies who might enter in
disguise and unobserved.
VThe camp was generally a self-sufficient unit. It
I was a miniature town. There were minstrels and women
■ of lower and higher ranks. For instance, Draupadi
and Subhadra, in the Pandava camp of the Mahabharata
war, lamented the death of Abhimanyu. They were
escorted*1)ack home by aged men.^” All the four varnas
were found in it. The storing of arms as well^ as of
food-stuffc‘s was ample. Physicians and surgeons were
available for the treatment of the sick and the wounded.’^
The army retired to rest after the day’s labour. On
waking up their first business was to offer prayers.^^
In this connexion Kautalya remarks: “ Kings and allies,
in order to secure their triumph should observe in their
encampment, the strict rules of self-denial, liberality and
religion. ”
SECTION IV
SITE FOR THE BATTLE-FIELD
Another strategical consideration which engaged the
general’s mind was the choice of a proper site for the
operations of war. It is thus laid down in the 3iva-
19 Ar. ^ds. Bk. X, 1 and 2; Kama. 19.45-50; ^ukra. fV.
7.260-63.
20 Mhb. IX, 29, 65 and 73.
21 Ibid. Udyogaparva, 151, 58. 152, 13; 155, 5.
22 Ibid. VI, 19. 36-39.
23 Kautalya, Bk. IV, p* 306.
244
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Hydsadhanurveda:^* “ That battle-field which is damp,
hard, full of gravel and water and contains granite and
shrubs ought not to be chosen. But one without inunda-
tions, but expansive, covered with a little dust or an
uninhabited plain, is the best theatre of war.” In the
battle of the Hydaspes, it is said that Porus fixed that
“ site where there was no clay but that the ground from
its nature was all flat and firm, and suited for the move-
ments of cavalry whether charging or falling back ”,
and that he drew up his army in order of battle, the
elephants being posted in the front lines at intervals of
not less than 100 feet and before the whole body of his
infantry, so as to strike terror into Alexander’s soldiers.
The infantry was arranged in two lines, one behind the
other, and also on the wings beyond the elephants. On
both sides of the infantry the cavalry were posted, with
chariots in front. According to the Agnipurdna,^ again,
strategic warfare must be conducted in forests, on rivers
and on rainy days, for attacks on open grounds are
always difficult. In the battle-field the commander
should aim at the strategical position of the army in its
various divisions. It was then the time for him to show
his mettle. Sukracarya says^® that both small and big
guns are to be stationed in front, and behind them the
foot-soldiers. The wings are to be occupied by elephants
and chargers. With regard to the general arrangement
of the army in the field, the Agnipiirdim^ says that the
various divisions should stand neither too close nor too
far apart, so that the soldiers can exercise their weapons
freely and without obstruction of any sort. In the fore-
24 ^rangadhara, 1681-82. 26 IV. 7. 343-5.
25 Ch. 236, 59-60. 27 Ch. 286, 28-37.
STRATE3GY AND TACTICS IN WAR
245
front, the flower of the army are to he stationed, of course
after keeping some as a reserve for an emergency. The
most important portion that should not be neglected on
any account, is the rear. Bold warriors armed with
swords must occupy the front. Behind should stand the
archers with bows and darts, then the horsemen, the
charioteers and the elephant-men in order. Before the
vanguard the leader of the army should stand holding
firmly the flag-staff. The front is to be an extensive
field so as to allow flanking movements without the least
difficulty. This is evident from the fact that the war-
wise leaders of Hindu India were accustomed to all kinds
of strategical movements. As for the king himself, he
was not to take an active part in the actual operations of
the field. For if he should happen to fall, that would
decide the battle instantaneously. Therefore he should
continue to encourage the army only from the rear.
In this connexion we may invite attention to an
important prescription of the Agnipurdna.'^ It says
that a competent general should attack the rear of the
enemy if he should find the ground in front and on the
sides undulating. In such a situation it was not possible
for the enemy to escape.^® Kautalya recommends en-
tangling the enemy in an ambuscade by fording the river
elsewhere if they guarded a particular ford.*® This can
be illustrated from the battle of the Ten Kings explained
in the Rg Veda Samhita.^^ Here the contending parties
were the Tritsus and the Bharatas. Both planned to
28 Ibid.
29 Compare Oman’s remarks on the Byzantine general of the
10th Century A.D. (op. cit. pp. 208 ff.).
30 Ar. ^as. p. 365.
31 III, 53.
S46
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
ford the Bias and the Sutlej and attempt a surprise
attack. But the Tritsus took the initiative and over-
whelmed the other side unsuspectedly on the southern
bank of the Ravi in an ambuscade, rnakiug it impossible
for the Bharatas to escape. Students of Indian History
will recollect that that was the device adopted by
Alexander in crossing the Hydaspes, seeing Porus guard-
ing the accustomed passage with his large army arrayed
for battle.®®
The battle-line was arranged with an exit here and
there. The Agnipurana speaks of a five-fold exit
(randhm) in a battle-line, a distinct improvement on the
old practice.®^ That there was certainly some such
opening in the battle-line at the Kuruksetra war is
evident from the fact that Drona went out to get an
idea of the enemy’s arrangement in the field.®®
A number of flags — dhvaja, ketu and pataka — dis-
tinguished the several divisions of an army. There was
a standard with a distinct symbol flying aloft from the
car of each knight, corresponding to the plume of the
European knight of the middle ages. For instance,
Arjuna had a monkey standard. Sometimes in the midst
of thick dust raised by the battle, it was not possible
to distinguish friend from foe. In such cases resort was
had to the particular device of signalling over the field by
horn and conch. The soldiers were so familiar with the
war-whoop of their men that they generally did not fail
32 See Date op. cit, pp. 70 and 72.
33 See for a plan of battle in V. A. Smith’s Early History of
India (fourth ed.).
34 Agni. 241, 40.
86 mb. VII, 117, 34. . .
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR
247
to recognise friend from foe.®® Two things are clear.
One is that there was no national flag as we have to-day,
and secondly that these standards and flags were the
rall3dng points of the belligerents in the battle. Strategy,
then, is the science, as distinguished from the art, of
war,
SECTION V
CONSTRUCTION AND SIEGE OP FORTS
^ One kind of land fight was siege warfare. The
ancient kings attached very great importance to
fortresses, for they served as the main base to defend the
kingdom against the invasions of the enemy. The
capital city of every ruling chief was surrounded by
fortifications either natural ‘or artificial.®^ The natural
ones were water-fortifications, mountain-fortifications,
desert-fortifications, and forest-fortifications.®® Of these
forms more value was attached to the water and moun-
tain-fortifications as affording ampler protection for
people and serving as impassable and insurmountable
barriers to the invading enemy. The treasury was
located in the citadel itself. Artificial fortifications like
the Maginot Line in France were those which were
specially constructed with a view to defend the capital
from an invading enemy. Every fort town was sur-
rounded by a deep and wide ditch closely touching the
lofty rampart walls thrown around. Here in these
36 VII, 171, 12: See also Hopkins, op. cit., pp. 255-56.
37 For a description of the six forts see the Aulanasa Dhanur-
veda quoted in the Laksanaprakdsa, pp. 239-41 ; also Visnusnirti, ib,
p. 242; See also Siddhdntasekhara, Ibid., pp. 242-45.
38 Mhh. Santi. 86.5-15; VisnM. eh. iii; Agni. 106.
348
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
ramparts usually poisonous and thorny plants were
allowed to grow.
Going back to the Rg Veda Samhitd, we find tribes
living in fortifications known by the name ‘ pur an
earth-work strengthened by a palisade or, possibly,
occasionally by a stone wall.®*) There are numerous
references to such kinds of fortress buildings which
were besieged and destroyed by the invading hosts. In
the later Brahmana literature also there is a distinct
reference to the existence of forts. In the annual
sacrifice portion of the Aitareya Brahmana the three
Agnis or fires are described as forming three forts to
prevent the Asuras from disturbing the sacrifice.^”
These, being afraid of these fires, with Agni in front and
behind, took to flight. Thus the Asuras and the
Raksasas were exterminated. Here, even the idea of
setting fire to the buildings as a last resort receives
emphasis. In the KausUaki Brahmnna the Upasadas
are described as the citadel of the Asuras, the enemies
of the Devas.^^ Here, these take refuge against the gods.
They make citadels of iron^^ in this world, of silver in
the atmospheric regions, and of gold in the sky beyond.
It may therefore be said without any fear of contradic-
tion that the use of forts was well known to the people
of the Vedic age.
Coming to the epoch of the Arthasdstra, Kautalya
says: “ In the construction of the rampart care should be
had that on the outer portions there should be no space
39 The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, p. 86.
40 ii, II (vii, I)— (A. B. Keith).
41 VIII, 8 (Ibid.)
42 RV. Bk. II, 20; III, 12; Cf. Manu. VH, 74.
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR
S49
whatsoever for movement of any sort and the few
openings allowed should be covered with invisible
obstructions: on the inner side of these ramparts there
must be two platforms on opposite sides, a big hall, two
upper-stories provided with an ascending and a descend-
ing staircase, iron bolts, massive beams, and turrets
being thrown over the huge gates. What were known as
Attalakas were places for locating both movable and
immovable defensive weapons. Hanuman speaks of the
imposing appearance of the Attalakas of the Lanka
fortress. The fort was furnished with a lotus pool which
should never dry up. There was a special place for the
worship of the goddess Kumarl. Perhaps this refers to
the caitya, usually a feature of the palace. Here the
guardian deities were housed and prayers offered for the
welfare of the kingdom in general. This expression also
occurs in the Bam, ay ana in connexion with Ravana’s
palace. Between these towers or turrets broad streets
were laid out with storied buildings on either side. There
was a separate road for the gods. Perhaps ’the proces-
sions on festival occasions passed through this pathway.
According to the Arthamstra the fortress was to be
furnished with twelve gateways with passages, open and
secret, both through land and water. From this different
roads of various dimensions branched off, one leading
to the neighbouring forests, and others to the country
parts-^*
Kautalya then speaks of the construction of the
royal palace inside the fort. This occupied one-ninth of
the whole area of the fort. To the north-east of the
palace lived the priests, ministers and other higher offi-
43 Ar. 'Sas. II, 3.
D— 32
250
WA9 IN ANCIKNT I^IA
dais, while to the south-east were situated the kitchen
and stables. On the western side the merchants, artisans,
and k§atriyas had their residences. Near these were
located the offices and the treasury, while opposite were
the store-house and the arsenal. To the southern side
of the palace lived musicians, prostitutes, and superin-
tendents of the city, of commerce, and of other depart-
ments. To the west lay the residences of the Sudra classes
and those engaged in small industries. In the north-west
were the bazaar-streets and hospitals with clusters of
guilds and groups of workmen of various trades and
manufacturers. In the heart of the city were a number
of temples devoted to different cults. In the northern
and eastern directions were situated burial grounds for
the lower castes and in the south those for higher castes.
Heretics and the Candala community had their quarters
beyond these grounds. Flower, fruit and vegetable
gardens, side by side with rice fields, lay scattered
throughout, both within and without the city. A well
with good drinking water was dug at a distance of every
ten houses. All the essential articles of daily use, such
as food-stuffs, oil, and salt, were stored inside the fort
so as to suffice for long periods of siege.^* From this it
appears that forts were systematically designed.
^ Some of the Dharmasdstras also throw light on the
kind and use of fortresses in general. Manu,*® says,
“ that the king should find his residence in a well
guarded fort either surrounded by deserts, forests or
water. The best is, indeed, the hill-fortress.** The
j
44 Ar. Sas. II, ch. 3.
45 Manu. 7. 70-71. i
46 Agni. ch. 222.5.
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR 26l
importance of citadels is well brought out by Manu
in the succeeding stanzas. Standing behind the battle-
ments of the citadel one bowman could easily withstand
one hundred bowmen and one hundred bowmen ten
thousand bowmen.^^ A king was thus enabled to
defend his capital against great odds with the aid of a
few able archers and warriors. As a souice of great
defence, fortifications were a valuable feature of ancient
states. But the existence of mere fortresses would not
produce the intended effect. So Manu ordains that they
should be garrisoned with a large equipment of soldiers,
engines and water-supply. Without an ample provision
of these things any amount of defence would be neither
adequate nor efficient.
\When the enemy attacked, the defender should take
refuge in a fort, removing all the inhabitants of the
villages into it and gathering in quantities of all sorts
of grain q,vailable.^ If this were not possible he might
destroy the bridges and minor forts in his own territory
and set fire to the grain stores, etc., so that they might
not be used by the invading king. Fresh ramparts should
be thrown round his own fort on the outside. The
moats must be filled up with creepers and with sharks
and crocodiles. Pointed and sharp spikes of various
kinds must be fixed in the bottom of the moats, thus
obstructing their crossing by the enemy. The walls of
the fort should be defended with fire-implements and
guns and the gateways with death-dealing engines.
Sataghnis or cannon and other weapons should be
furnished on the impenetrable ramparts, so that an
47 Manu. 7. 74-6.
48 UKb, ^anti. 59, 35-37; Ibid. 4145.
252
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
effective defence might be offered even against a power-
iiful invader. Thus in Bhi§ina’s learned opinion a fort
; surrounded by a huge wall and a ditch full of water and
‘ furnished with only one entrance is the best.^® It is
again seen that the number of gates for the fort seems in
no way to have been restricted. For example, if we may
believe the testimony of Megasthenes, Pataliputra was
I encompassed by a moat six plethrons^^^ broad and 30
cubits deep, and the ramparts were furnished with 572
powers and above all 64 gates.“
Kamandaka belongs to the Kautaliyan school. He
speaks of only five kinds of fortresses, water, (e.g. the
modern water defences of the Meuse), hill, forest, (e.g.
the present Ardennes Forest affording natuial obstacles),
barren plain, or desert.®^ The recommendations made
for providing defence and safety are the same as in
, Kautaliya. As a typical illustration of a fort as
gathered from literary sources, the castle of Lanka figures
prominently in the Bamdyana. Hanuman describes the
city as he saw it.®* The doors were huge and massive
and fastened with iron bolts. Above them were stationed
several kinds of arms and machines to guard them from
invaders. Hundreds of Sataghnis were found arranged
in order at the entrance. The walls were unscalable,
and their sides were decorated with numerous precious
, stones of high value. Surrounding these there was a
deep and wide moat filled with pure water and contain-
49 im. 100, 15.
49a Plethron was a Greek unit of measurement about 101
English feet.
50 The Indica of Arrim (MeCrindle).
51 Kamandaka, IV, 55-59.
52 Yuddha.eh,9. ’ '
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR
253
ing several wild aquatic animals. There were four
bridges over the moat, protected on both sides with huge
1 destructive engines. The citadel was further defended
by water, hill, and other artificial fortifications. It was
fuUy garrisoned with horses, elephants, and hundreds of
brave Baksasa warriors.
There is also an interesting description of Ayodhya
in the same work. It was twelve yojanas in length and
ten in breadth.®^ Broad and spacious roads were laid
throughout. Everything was kept in order. It had
strong gates with massive doors. By the side of the
wall was a fathomless moat. In the city were numerous
artisans, merchants, soldiers and other classes of people.
Corn-fields and gardens met the eye everywhere.
The conception of fortresses in medieval India was
not very different from that in ancient India. It would
be interesting to study here how the MmiasarasilpaMstm,
an important work on Indian architecture,®* defines the
Padmaka type of a fortress city having eight, twelve or
sixteen gates and the whole surrounded by a huge wall
and a moat. It is said that suitable sites for a fort are
those where water can be got in all seasons and hence
either near a sea-shore, or by the river-side or in a forest-
plain. The gateways are to have huge double-doors,
securely fastened by strong bolts. Above them are to be
placed firing guns and other destructive war-machines
with soldiers stationed near them.
Besides the Padmaka type, which has the plan of a
circle or a square, other plans recommended are the
53 Balak&ndO', ch. 5. '
54 Indian Architecture (Ananthalwar) Vol. Ill, Bk, i, ck. 9.
(Text and Trans, by P. K. Acharya — Oxford Press, 1933).
S64 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
svastika type, more or rectangular in form, and the
kdrmuka or bow-like type. Over these towers are to liy
flags with guardsmen near them and here music is to be
played.®® J ust near the main gateway are to be built the
royal palace and the residences of the principal officers.
Behind was the harem. Between them the kitchens and
store-rooms were located. In the south we have the
arsenal and the pleasure gardens and in the north the
fourfold forces. Separate quarters for all classes in the
interior and separate tanks for men and beasts are a
speciality. The guardian deity is to be worshipped in a
separate apartment. Streets of different dimensions
were laid out and equipped with lamp-posts. The
suburbs of the castle-palace led to the country.
There is another equally important work on
architecture, attributed to king Bhoja, Samardngana-
sutradhara, in which mention is made of four kinds of
fortresses. Surrounded by a chain of lofty hills difficult
to scale is the mountain castle. Full of thorns, shrubs
and trees and interspersed with pieces of water on every
side and with secret passages leading to and from it, is
the muladurga or forest castle. Surrounded by deep
waters on all the four sides and presenting a beautiful
physical appearance, it became a water-fortified castle.
The last is the desert-fortification.®® This classification,
it may be observed, is the same as Manu’s. But a later
work like the Hariharacaturanga gives the traditional
classification of six forts, and one of the names is worth
noting, Dharmadurga (Bk. VI).
There are also several other literary references to
55 Indian Architecture, Vol. Ill, ch. xi.
56 Vol. I, oh. via, 86-80.
STRATBOY AND TACTICS IN WAR 255
the fortresses which are both interesting and valuable.
According to the Agnipurdna, the fore-part of a city
should be in the form of a bow.**^ Goldsmiths and
other artisans were to occupy the south-east portions;
actors and dancers the south, and the minor artisans
and fishermen the south-west, the arsenal department
in the west, public of&ees in the north-west, Brahmans
and monks in the north, merchant guilds in the south-
east; the Ksatriyas, the army and its commanders in
the east, the Sudras in the west, and the Mlecchas on the
outer fringe. Temples for the gods and other guardian
deities were to be built in any direction; the harem and
the palace of the king were to be in the east, while the
royal kitchen and the store-room were in the south-east
and the north.
The 3ivatattvaratndkara has an interesting chapter
on the use and construction of a fortress.®® A king
without a fort is compared to a snake without poison
and an elephant without a rut. Here nine kinds of
fortresses are mentioned. To the classical six of the
Mahdhhdrata, three more are added. This only shows
that as time went on, the types of fortresses increased in
number. According to this late authority, the best are
the mountain and the water-fortifications, while the
Darudurga and Naradurga belong to the inferior kind.
Secret ways with machines and weapons guarding them
are mentioned, besides the collection of articles for daily
use.
The fort must be garrisoned with all classes. But the
artisans ought to be greater in number, since they are
required for manufacturing war materials. Smaller in
57 Agnipur&na, I, 106.
58 Kalola, 5, Taranga, 6.
856
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
number may be the Brahmans, for their services are
required only for propitiating the ddities and perform-
ing the necessary rites to ensure victory. Otherwise
they are not of much value for purposes of warfare. The
iSukranUisdra'’^ has the significant statement that to live
in a fortress not furnished with food and weapons is to
live only m imprisonment.
y Again, in the Tamil classic, 'Maduraik'kmiji, of the
early centuries of the Christian era, there is an excellent
description of the fortification of Madura,®® the capital
city of the Pandiyan king. It was intersected by grand
streets with palatial buildings on both sides. A forest
dense with the trees and shrubs difficult for the enemy
to march through surrounded it and served as a sort
of protection. It was succeeded in turn by a very
deep moat of pure and clear water. There were huge
gates, lofty towers above, and massive walls around, one
of which was full of ornamental paintings. The palace
stood high above these, with its numerous storied build-
ings and crowned with flags of various hues. There were
two extensive bazaar streets attracting all classes of
people throughout the day. Women decked with orna-
ments and well dressed were seen standing in the front
verandahs of their houses. Here the Brahmans, the
Buddhists, and the Jains lived side by side and in
harmony. There were merchants and artisans of various
trades and professions.
Taking a general view of the different descriptions
of fortresses, some of these formations appear to be
fantastic and recall those of China. Still the real
59 SuUra. I, 237-57.
60 Ind. Ant, Vol. 40, p. 227.
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR 257
military value of some forms of fortresses cannot be
underrated. The mere possession of a fort would not by
itself be of strength and value.
The Agnipurana specifies five defects as seriously
impairing the strength and value of fortresses in
general.®^ These are (1) the drying and silting up of
the ditch with sand and mud; (2) the bad and neglected
condition of the ramparts and towers; (3) the conti-
nuance in use of old, worn-out and inefficient instruments
and machines of warfare; (4) a neglected arsenal and
(5) an insufficient garrison of soldiers. So it was the
duty of a king to see that a fortress was properly main-
tained to stand an effective siege.
^ SIEGE OPERATIONS
^^How the 4iege operations were conducted and what
devices and tactics were adopted to get possession of the
enemy’s fortresses may next engage our attention. Five
methods seem to have been employed in capturing a
fort.®® They were intrigue, apasarpan or pretending to
retreat, vamanam or winning over the people, paryu-
vcLsanam or actual siege, and avamartJia or taking by
assault. In Kautalya’s opinion, an invading king should
not, all at once, commence the siege of the enemy’s
fortress, for such a procedure would ultimately land him
in trouble. So a regular siege must be preceded by a
considerable reduction of the enemy’s forces. This alone
would easily lead him to victory in the struggle^
Employing means, whether fair or foul, the would-be
conqueror should prepare the way for a well-laid siege.
61 Agmpunr&'m, Ch. 241, si. 28.
62 Ar. ^ds. pp. 407-08.
D— 33
268 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
A messenger should speak highly of his omniscient and
supernatural powers and of his close association with
several deities, and thus evoke a sort of awe and
reverence in the enemy towards him. Again, heretics
and jugglers may be specially employed to seduce the
enemy’s subjects from their loyalty to their lord by
playing upon their humour through the display of
various kinds of magical tricks. Or again, officials in the
employ of the invader should pretend to have been
dismissed by their master and seek employment with the
defending sovereign. And after they gained his confi-
dence they were to aim at his life. Further, the
would-be conqueror, to ensure eventual success, should
win over guilds of merchants and other public corpora-
tions, and thus weaken the enemy. These and other
methods prescribed by Kautalya may appear to laymen
as unscrupulous, but they could be justified on the
ground that his work is a treatise of expediency, and
therefore these various means recommended for winning
over the enemy’s subjects or reducing his strength have
indeed an ethical character, for it is the svadharma of a
ksatriya king to conquer the enemy though it might cost
his life.
With such preliminaries the invader might begin
the siege if he found that everything else was in his
favour and not in the enemy’s.®® The opportune moment
to commence siege operations might be when the enemy
was in distress or suffered from disease, when his officers
were disloyal and given to bribery, or when he possessed
inadequate or ill-equipped defences, or had no ally to
support him. The invader should wait for some such
63 Ihid^ pp. 404-05. ‘
STHATEOY AND TACTICS IN WAH
259
opportunity, and when it presented itself should not let
it go, for there is only one tide in the affairs of men.
Again, if the invader could not effect his purpose satis-
factorily and found the enemy’s people and officers above
corruption or bribery, then he must have recourse to
other and more effective means. Particularly when the
enemy’s subjects assumed the offensive, the invader
might destroy their crops, water sources and stores, cut
off their communications and place all kinds of obstruc-
tion in their path. This is only the pratikriya of Indian
political literature. It is not, therefore, considered a sin.
Por instance, Hanuman burnt down the whole city as
his tail was set fire to. Thus by destroying their crops
and depriving them of their cattle, an invading king
prepared the ground for laying a siege to the enemy’s
fort.
' During the actual operations of a siege, the ditch '
surromiding the ramparts of a fort if empty, should first
be filled by the besiegers with water and with mud and
sand if it contained water. Then reaching the outer walls
of the parapet, and finding them strongly guarded with
well-equipped warriors, machines, explosives, and other
materials might be used to bring down the walls by
assault. In the meantime, the cavalry troops would be
employed in forcing a passage through the various gate-
ways of the fortifications. If these endeavours should
not bear fruit, then recourse might be had to the use of
^ fire. This was the last alteniative, for Kautalya himself
says that it is immoral and should be used only in an
extreme crisis. Arrows vomiting fire could be shot both
at the defenders of the fortress and into its interior.
But this would not be sufficient to set fire to the whole of
the fortress inside. ^ it is suggested that the tails) of
260
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
(birds could be tied witk ‘ agniyoga ’ which, when
deposited on the roofs of the houses, would ignite and
reduce the whole building to ashes.®* In a fragment of
Megasthenes, mention is made also of a kind of boiling
[*oil used in warfare and especially in sieges. It was
■extracted for the king, according to Ktesias, from a
worm found in the Indus. The oil had the power to
ignite everything. What exactly the worm referred to
is, has not been finally settled, though Professor Wdson
identified it with the alligator.
If, despite such methods,®® the enemy would still not
submit, and offer a defensive attack and there was no
chance of bringing down the fortress, other methods were
recommended as a last resort. One such method is to
[befriend the enemy, observe carefuUy his weak points,
[and suddenly strike him, thus depriving him of his
I citadel. If this should fail, the invader may feign defeat
and exhaustion, and setting fire to his own camp, pretend
to retreat, and thus induce the enemy to open his gates
and come out. He should then turn back and take the
fortress by storm without losing a single moment.
Another factor to be reckoned with was the use of
elephants in siege warfare.®® That these animals were
used for demolishing the fort-walls is seen, beside other
evidences, from the first fragment of the Indika of
Ktesias. These animals were particularly trained for
this purpose. At a given signal from their leader these
animals rushed impetuously towards the walls and
pressed themselves against them.^
64 Even in modern wars, birds are not without use, (e.g. carrier
pigeons are particularly useful in carrying' messages).
65 Ar. ^ds. XIII, ch. 4.
66 Indika of Ktesias (Fnagments, *17).
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR 261
We have a good description of the siege of the Lanka
fortress in the Bamdyma. Hearing that Kama was
approaching with vast monkey hosts, Ravana stationed
very brave men to defend the four gates of his citadel,
himself defending the northern gate.®^ The monkey
warriors with trees and rocks destroyed the upper por-
tions of the great walls and filled the moat with trees,
rocks and straw.®® Several thousands of monkeys under
their leaders made an onslaught against the gateways.
But the Raksasas hurled incessantly innumerable darts
and- Bhindip^as from the walls. Gradually all the
Raksasas were killed. Finding that the city had not
fallen, Sugriva ordered what we may call a mass attack.®®
Thereupon the monkey- warriors with fire-brands in their
hands advanced towards the gates and set fire to them.
Some of them entered the city and set fire to the high-
ways and byways as well as the great storied buildings
and even the palace. Enraged at this, Indrajit thought
of vanquishing the enemy by the use of stratagem.™
He brought in his car’ an illusory figure of Sita
and had her slain in the presence of these monkey-
warriors. Then he performed some homos and sacri-
fices at Nikumbhala secretly in order to overwhelm
the enemy’s forces and rout them thoroughly. But it
was discovered, and he was soon killed by Laksmana.
It may be noted also that fire was resorted to only
towards the end of the siege and that Rama very
dexterously allied himself with Vibhisana who offered
67 Rdmayma, Yuddha kdn^, ch. 36.
68 Ibid., ch. 4:6.
69 Ibid., ch. 75.
70 Ibid., chh. 81-82.
262
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
to help him- This alliance with an important member
of the enemy’s party was, indeed, a clever move which
ultimately paid very well. For but for his timely warn-
ing Indrajit might have finished his ceremonies at
Nikumbhala and proved more than a match for the
allies through his prowess and capacity for producing
illusions. Lastly, the city was entered and Eavana was
killed in a fierce battle. Thus did Rama come into
possession of the city.
According to the Agnipurdna the invading monarch
should carefully note that part of the citadel over which
the crows came in and went out, and concentrate his
attack on that quarter.^^ If this were done, it was
believed that the fort would be captured in the end.
Before starting on a military expedition, Kalidasa says
that the king should see that the capital fortress as well
as the frontier fortifications were well-fortified and
defended.’* For the value of a fortress to the king is
incalculable. Only after such precautions had been taken
did Raghu set out on his famous Digvijaya.
Fear of foreign invasion is not the sole motive that
necessitates the construction of these huge forts. Does
not the lion, the king of animals, and a fierce destroyer
of the gigantic elephant, have its abode in the mountain
caves? So also there are advantages in a fortified
palace.
Having thus captured the enemy’s fortress, the
invader should show mercy to the weak and the wounded.
He must remove all his enemy’s soldiers and warriors
and replace them with his own men, lest the former should
71 AgmpurOim, ch. 232.
72 BaghwamSd, Cant6 IV, 26, 17, 52.
STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR
26S
do any mischief. Then he should make a triumphal
entry into the palace with all the paraphernalia of a
victor. After the fall of the citadel Lanka, Rama with
his hosts spent the night in the city adorned with his
garland of victory. He generously granted the kingdom
to Yibhisana, the brother of the slain king.
Let me conclude this section by referring to the
attitude of modern military experts towards the use
of fortifications. Most of them take the view that as
conditions exist at present fortresses are unnecessary
and dangerous. The men garrisoning them might be
better employed in other places. Both the country and
the army are either ruined by them or draw from them
no tangible benefit. They entail enormous and wasteful
expenditure for their building, maintenance, and
garrisoning with troops. In fine, fortresses are seldom
anything but an incubus. These remarks of a weighty
authority must be respected, though we see a tinge
of exaggeration in them. There is a wrong notion
that is still current, namely, that these forts have lost
their military value and are an anachronism since the
invention of gun-powder.'” But Dr. Oppert and some
other scholars have demonstrated that gunpowder was
in use in ancient India even in very early times, and
still those strongholds were recommended as safe ones.
No doubt they were costly defences and some of
the soldiers mobilised in the forts could have played a
useful part in the open field. But there is the other side
of the shield. It was during the last Great War, as we all
know, that the fortresses in Belgium offered a stubborn
73 Clarke’s Mediaeval and Military Architecture, Vol. I.
Operations of War.
264 wah in ancient india
resistance to the Ghermans, but for which the latter might
in all probability have overwhelmed the whole of France.
In fact they were decisive in arresting the progress of
Germany. Therefore to decry the value of a fort is to
misjudge its merit. It was perhaps rightly said that the
“ fortifications of Paris assure more powerfully the
independence of France against the attacks of all Europe
than the acquisition of many provinces which would only
so much the more extend the frontier.’’ It may be that
the extensive use of gunpowder in recent times has faci-
litated their destruction much more quickly than before.
But this is not a sufficient argument for condemning
such a useful institution which has rendered glorious
service through the ages. Even the use of heavy guns
and shells has not thrown the dug-out trench out of its
usefulness. Trench warfare is but one kind of defensive
operation from the security of the fortified and protected
underground trench.^®*
section VI
TACTICS
In tactics we call a battle defensive if the enemy
takes the initiative, and the defender awaits him from
his own station. Among the six prescriptions of foreign
relations we can roughly speak of vigraha as a war of
offence and dsana as one of defence. In the great battle
73a The trenches during the Great War of 1314-18 and the under-
ground fortifications of the Maginot and Siegfried Lines may be
noted in this connection. It may be recalled that the Barrier
Fortress effectively checked Louis XIV ’s ambitious schemes of
conquest of the Netherlands *in his wars.
1
STRATBOY AND TACTICS IN WAR
265
of La^ka it was Kama who took the offensive, while
Bava^a adopted a defensive policy. It was a long and
Weary march from Kiskindha to Lanka. Further, there
was the sea to be crossed. This was possible only by a
rough causeway which was specially constructed by the
engineering skill of Nila at the instance of Rama. This
must certainly have lost Rama much time ; and Ravana,
if he had wished, could have obstructed the building of
the causeway. Common sense would have dictated that he
should prevent the enemy from crossing the bridge by
direct defence from the other shore. Apparently Ravana
realised the advantage of the condition of the approach-
ing enemy as well as of the groimd on which he could
reinforce his troops and draw them up in orderly array.
Judged by the result, Ravana ’s adoption of this defen-
sive policy was a tactical blunder.
In dealing with the conduct of war from the point
of view of tactics, the range and the effect of different
weapons are important. In tactics, however, we are
concerned with arms in a finished state and not with
their construction.'^^ At the outset it must be remarked
that Indian literature is replete with a number of
mystical weapons, which seem to have been used by
superhuman heroes and which legitimately belong to
the Daiva and Asura forms of combat.'^® They were
chiefly fought with charms and spells. The ’^Atharva
Veda Samhitd is full of these. The object was to con-
fuse the enemy and steal a march over him.’® It is not
to our purpose to mention these, as we are dealing
74 Clauzewitz, I, p. 113.
75 mu. II, 22-49; J?dma. I, 27-28.
76 S.B.E. A.V. pp. 121-24.
D— ^
266
WAR IN ANCnSNT INDIA
with the manusa form of battle, far from the realm of
mythology.
Vyiihasx It would be interesting to consider the
disposition of the army or order of battle, called vyuha
in Sanskrit literature.” This belongs to the province of
tactics, while the plan of war is strategy. It must not
be forgotten, however, that the deployment and the
drawing up of the army in array form the chief part
of the plan of battle which should be arranged in
accordance with the nature of the ground.
If the ground is level, the army may be arranged
on danda or staff-like array and mandala or circular
array; if uneven, bhoga or snake-like and asamhata or
detached arrays, and if complex, visama or an irregular
array.” Kautalya speaks of Sama, Visama, Hasti,
Bathi, Asva and Patti vyiihas. In all these arrays
the fourfold forces are used, imlike the solid phalanx
of the Greeks and the Romans, which was a square
formation of heavy armed infantry drawn up in rank
and file, close and deep. In the samavyuha all the four
77 The LaksamprdkdSa quotes at length on this subject from
a work entitled Rdjavijaya, apparently a work on war.
78 Ar, ^d$. Bk. X, 3. The Hariharacaturanga follows the
Kautalya’s ArthalSstra in this respect and mentions six principal
■vyflhas with their sub-divisions and details of arrangement. These
are the mandala, asamhata, bhoga, danda, varSha and prakrti. The
last two, varfiha and prakrti, are new divisions put into use probably
during the Muhammadan and Vijayanagar periods. As if to corro-
borate this, there is mention of var&ha vyUha in a Vijayanagar
inscription (Jfp. Car. Vm, p. 186).
It was arranged in boar-like form: What was the principle
that underlay the prakiti vyUha it is difficult to say. We are told
that at the battle of Baichur the army was divided into seven wings
(Sewell, p. 336). •
( STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN WAR 267
arms are placed at certain distance so that there may be
free movement for every soldier in the use of his
weapons. There must be three men-at-arms to oppose a
charger, and fifteen men or five horses to oppose a
chariot or an elephant. If it is otherwise, it is visama
vyuha. In an array of chariots (ratha) nine chariots
are stationed in front and the same number on the two
flanks and the two wings. The same number is also
used for elephant (hasti) and horse (asva) vyuhas ; but
in the array of elephants, nine war elephants are in the
front, the same number, but trained for riding purposes
are on the flanks, and rogue elephants on the wings ; in
an array of infantry (patti), soldiers wearing coats of
mail are in front, those without armour are on the wings
and archers in the rear.’^
The other kinds of array are bhoga (snake-like)
in which the army is arranged in a line one behind the
other, danda (staff -like) in which the army stands
abreast, mandala (circle) in which the army is stationed
in such a way as to be able to face all directions,
and the asamhata (detached) array, and in which
small groups of warriors act by themselves. The
danda array becomes pradara when its flanks are
projected forward. And it is drona when both the
flanks and wings are so projected. Its counterpart is
asahya wh6re its wings are of great length. Syena
is formed when the front stretches out, with its counter
Capa. But if these four are arranged in the reverse
order, they are known respectively as capa, capakuksi,
pradhii^tha and supradhistha. The capa with its front
stretched out becomes vajra with its counter sanjaya.
79 Ibid,, ch. 6.
WAR IN ANCIENT INOU
With flanks and wings extended, it becomes sthulakar^a,
with the front twice the original length; vi^a vijaya
is its counter array. With wings alone projected it
is called camumukha, and the reverse of this latter
Jha^asya. The efficacy of these arrays in their days
was its irresistibility and strength to break through the
enemy’s order of battle.*®
Again suci is another variety of dandavyuha where
the various divisions of one army stand one behind
the other. If this is of two lines, it is known as
valaya, if of four lines, durjaya. Sarpasari and gomu-
trika are other varieties of bhoga order in which the
front flanks and wings are of imequal depth. That
is sakata (cart) in which there are two lines in
front, while the wings are like those of danda array.
The converse order for this is makara (crocodile).
Paripatantaka whose counter array is sarvatobhadra is
yet another variety of bhoga which is another form of
cart-like array.
The different dispositions of the army under the
mandala classification are sarvatomukha (capable of
turning in all directions), sarvatobhadr^, (auspicious),
a^tmiika (an eight-fold division), vijaya (giving vic-
tory), vajra (diamond-like), kffisapadi (crow’s foot),
ardhacandrika (semi-circle-like), and karkatakasrngi
(fish-like or crab-like). Some more kinds of arrays
mentioned are arista where the front, the wings
and the rear are occupied by chariots, elephants and
horses respectively, acala in which infantry, cavalry,
chariots and elephants stand one behind the other, and
apratihata in which elephants, horses, chariots and
80 Ibid., ch. 6.
STEATEGY AND TACUCS IN WAR^ 269
infantry stand one behind the other. But all kinds of
arrays could be resisted with success by durjaya.*^
These vyuha varieties are also mentioned in the
Agnipurarm.^^ According to it, even a small body
of soldiers, if drawn up in pin-like array, could hold
its own against odds. Though every array mentioned
was practically drawn up in five parts, yet all of
them were not engaged at one and the same time.
Usually one or two divisions were in active service, while
the rest were kept in reserve to meet emergencies.
But if the central division of the main portion of the
vyuha was broken, then it was time to order a general
retreat.*® Ka^mandaka names from Brhaspati the seven
limbs of a vyuha, and from Sukra five limbs, and
concludes by saying that there are seventeen varie-
ties of danda vyuha, two varieties of mandala, six of
asamhata, and five of bhoga. These should be used in
accordance with place and time by expert leaders who
have a practical and working knowledge of them.®*
Strategy and tactics could be used with effect both
in. righteous and unrighteous warfare. Nowhere else is
the application of these arrays so practically illustrated
as in the Great War. In tlie MaJiahharqta war Bhisma
has recourse to different vyuhas on different days.*® The
army of the Kurus consisted of eleven Aksauhinis whUe
that of the Pandavas had only seven. Seeing himself
81 Ar. Sas. Bk. X. 6.
82 Mr. Date furnishes plans of the following vylShas: sarpa,
cakra, sQei, garuda, makara, Sakata, danda, kaka, simha and others
towards the end of his Art of War.
83 Agni. ch. 236.
84 Kama. 20. 21-40, 53-55.
85 Bhisma. ch. 20, 18.
270
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
numerically inferior, but backed by the superior strategy
and e:q>erience, Yudhi^tkira advises Arjuna to form a
pin-like array as it was decisive in battles where a few
had to fight against many. Its other advantage was ihat
it was capable of expansion, when necessary. But
Arjuna in reply expresses his desire to form that
impenetrable array called vajra with Bhima as its leader
and king Virata in the rear and the whole protected by
himself. For it has the great advantage of facing all
directions.*® Sveta and Bhisma exchange winged arrows.
Then the former cuts off his bow with his sword. But
in the evening Sveta is killed by Bhisma.®^ The next
day Dhrstadyumna is appointed commander and a
kraunoaruna vyuha is formed. Arjuna is the leader of
the vanguard. Drupada is its head and king Kuntibhoja
and Caidya are its two eyes. A few kings were placed
on its neck. Yudhisthira with his retinue takes a
position at the rear. Bhima, Satyaki, and other horse-
men constitute its right wing. Nakula and Sahadeva
occupy the left wing. For to concentrate on the flanks
is one of the unwritten principles of cavalry tactics.*^®
On the joints of the wings are stationed elephants and
car warriors as well as on the head, the back and the
neck. The rear is protected by Virata.®® Bhisma forms
86 Ibid., oh. 19.
87 na., eh. 48.
878 Cf. the tactics of the strong flanking parties {tvighama)
of the Mongol and Mughals, especially in the flrst battle of Pfinipat,
where Babnr scientiflcally combined artillery and cavalry, ready to
wheel round and take the enemy in the flank or rear, (C.9. 1. IV.
pp. 12'13). See also Bushbrook, Williams: An Empire Builder of
the XVUC. (Allahabad) 1918.
88 BMfma. eh. 50, 40^
STOATEOY AND TACTICS IN WAR
271
a counter array and blows his conch. Arrows, swords and
battle-axes are used in succession. Arjuna fights with
Bhl§ma, and Drona with Dhrstadyumna. Bhisma kills
the I^llnga prince and his soldiers.*®
v^hen the garuda vyuha is formed by Bhisma;
Drona and Krtavarman are its eyes, Aivatthama and
Kj^a its head, Jayadratha its neck, Duryodhana its back,
and Surasena and others its tail. The Magadhas and
Kalingas form its right wing and other trib^ the left
wing. On this Arjuna forms a counter array in ardha-
candra.®® Again the Pandavas form the srngataka vyuha
against the ocean-like army of Bhisma.®^
The next to be referred to in detail is the sarvato-
bhadra array of Bhisma ’s army.®® Further, Drona draws
his army in cart-like array and the Pandavas in
the kraunca form.®* Again, when Karna assumes the
generalship at Drona ’s death, he forms the makara
vyuha, while the Pandavas forms an ardhacandra.®*
Similarly, in the encounter between Bhima and Duryo-
dhana, various manoeuvres are displayed.®®
A close examination of the arrays used in the
Mahabharata battles affords proof of the existence of
four kinds of movements common to them — circular,
crooked, separate and compact, roughly corresponding
to the deep and dense columns of mediaeval England.
The introduction of firearms brought about a transfor-
89 Ihid., chh. 51 and 52.
90 Ibid., 56, 12-19.
91 Ibid., 88, 16 f.
92 Ibid., 100, 2 f. Salya, 1.210.
93 Drona. ch. 7, 10.22.
94 Kama, xi, 14-32.
95 Ibid., SB, nt
WAB m ANCIBNT INDU
S7S
matiou in the tactical disposition of troops. We find
different formations in wars since the beginning of
modem times. Methods in the formation of troops
have been profoundly affected by the changes of arma-
ments in different periods of history. Every method
served a purpose in its own age. The conclusion is
that we must not become the slaves of any particular
method. From the AgnipwrmM^ we conclude that
vyuhas like makara and suci are to be formed if
the danger is expected from the front, the sakata or
cart-like arrangement if danger is from the rear, the
vajra if from the wings, and the cakra or wheel array
if from all sides. And the General-in-Chief must
invariably accompany the front which is indeed the
danger zone. Acting up to these principles in all their
encounters with Bhisma, Drona, Karna or even Duryo-
dhana, the Pandavas won their victory by sheer manli-
ness conducting themselves generously against the enemy.
Does not diplomacy lend colour to strategical and
tactical considerations also?
In the Kutayuddha, on the other hand, different
tactics come into play. The idea that underlies this
method of war is not Dharma. But still that form of
war, to repeat what we have said, is warranted by
the ^Hastraic texts but only as a last resort. When
Duryodhana was sinking, Asvatthama with Krpa hnd
Krtavarman entered the Pandava camps undetected at
night, and murdered Dhratadyumna and the Pancala
warriors, set fire to their tents and returned.” The
tactics adopted by Indrajit in the war with Rama by
% Ch. 242, 35ff.
97 Sau/pcAi, eh. 8.
STRATEGY AND TACTICS iN WAR
273
the murdering of Maya Sita so as to dishearten the
monkey hosts, who witnessed the horrid scene and spread
the news of Sita’s death, came upon Rama as a great
surprise.®* But for the timely disclosure of the facts by
Vibhisana, Rama might have desisted from further
fighting.
Another method employed in Kutayuddha is to
attack the enemy fighting on another front when he
was engaged or the would-be conqueror would feign
an open attack or retreat, draw the enemy into a trap
and overwhelm him in the rear by attacks previously
arranged. This is what we understand to-day as
enveloping tactics. Generally the attacks were direct,
and rarely was this tactical method adopted. When
the Pandavas realised that Bhisma could not be con-
quered by a frontal attack, they arranged a plan
of campaign in which the enemy would be overwhelmed
from all sides. Indeed it proved effective to the
PSndavas and detrimental to the Kurus. No restric-
tions embarrassed a king pursuing an unrighteous war.
The enemy might be attacked whenever he was wearied
or careless. Or he might be killed when asleep during
day or night.®® Thus the use of stratagem for destroying
an enemy seems to have been advocated even by good
men. Asvatthama cites the authority of Vedic scholars
for the use of poison, fire, and illusory weapons as the
road to victory.
98 Yuddha. ch. 81.
99 K&ma: 19, 54-66.
qr ^vm mw ft ^ I
% II
Cf. Ar. iSds. XII, ch. 2, 5; XIII, 2; XIV, ch. 14.
Dl-35
m
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
In tilis connexion the recommendation of the Agni-
pura/m^^ is noteworthy. False shouts of victory should
be made to terrify the enemy and spread confusion in
his ranks. These may, perhaps, find a parallel in
^emy propaganda in modem wars in which defeats are
sometimes advertised as victories.
Thus ‘ strategy ’ and ‘ tactics ’ are simply two
different names, as has been well said, given to the
same devices when applied in scales of different magni-
tude. There is no single rule applicable to the former
which is not equally applicable to the latter as well.
100 Ch. 236. 69-68.
CHAPTER Vn
AERIAL AND NAVAL WARFARE
SECTIOK I
AERIAL WARFARE
No question can be more interesting in the present
circumstances of the world than India’s contribution to
the science of aeronautics. There are numerous illustra-
tions m our vast Puranic and epic literature to show how
well and wonderfully the ancient Indians conquered the
air. To glibly characterize everything found in this
literature as imaginary and summarily dismiss it as
unreal has been the practice of both Western and
Eastern scholars imtU very recently. The very idea
iudeed was ridiculed and people went so far as to assert
that it was physically impossible for man to use flying
machines. But to-day what with balloons, aeroplanes
and other flying machines^ a great change has come over
our ideas on the subject.
The use and value of air forces is not hard to assess.
Their chief use lay until recently in the rapidity and
skill with which the men flying did the scouting and
reported to headquarters. They located the position
of the enemy, which enabled them to direct the attack.
We know from modem history that the French were
the first to use balloons for this purpose. The dis-
covery of aeroplanes has revolutionised the realm of
1 See in this connexion Golikere: Through Wonderlands of
the Universe (1933), esp. feh. vi flf.
376
WAB IN ANCIENT INDIA
strategy and tactics. The present War has demonstrated
that before the air arm everything else pales into
insignificance.
Turning to Vedic literature, in one of the
Brdhmanas occurs the concept of a ship that sails
heavenwards. The ship is the Agnihotra of which the
lAhavaniya and Garhapatya fires represent the two sides
bound heavenward, and the steersman is the Agnihotrin
who offers milk to the three Agnis.* Again in thc^ still
earlier Bg Veda Samhitd we read that the Asvins con-
veyed the rescued Bhujya safely by means of winged
ships.® The latter may refer to the aerial navigation
in the earliest times.
In the recently published Samardngana Sutradhdra
of Bhoja, a whole chapter of about 230 stanzas^ is
devoted to the principles of construction underlying the
various flying machines and other engines used for
military and other purposes. The various advantages
of using machines, especially flying ones, are given
elaborately. Special mention is made of their attacking
visible as well as invisible objects, of their use at one’s
will and pleasure, of their uninterrupted movements, of
their strength and durability, in short of their capa-
bility to do in the air all that is done on earth.- After
enumerating and explaining a number of other advant-
ages, the author concludes that even impossible things
could be effected through them. Three movements are
usually ascribed to these machines, — ^ascending, cruising
thousands of miles in different directions in the atmos-
2 SatOfpatha Brahmana, II, 3, 3, 15.
3 ^ Veda, I. 117. 14 and 15. Here ‘ wings ’ may be ‘ sails ’.
4 Ch. 31. (GaekwacJ Oriental Series).
ASRIAL AND NAVAL WARFARE
277
phere and lastly descending. It is said that in an aerial
car one can mount up to the Suryamandala, ‘ solar
region ’ and the Nak§atra mandala (stellar region) and
also travel throughout the regions of air above the sea
and the earth. These cars are said to move so fast as
to make a noise that could be heard faintly from the
ground.® Still some writers have expressed a doubt and
asked ‘ Was that true ? ' But the evidence in its favour
is overwhelming.
The make of machines for offence and defence to be
used on the ground and in the air is described. Some
of these are water machines, musical instruments, door-
keeper machines, streets, houses and pillars by means of
‘ yantra ’ or machine, and other varieties. These require
separate study. Considering briefly some of the flying
machines alone that find distinct mention in this work,
we find that they were of different shapes like those of
elephants, horses, monkeys, different kinds of birds,
and chariots. Such vehicles were made usually of wood.
We quote in this connexion the following stanzas so
as to give an idea of the materials and size, especially
as we are in the days of rigid airships navigating the
air for a very long time and at a long distance as well.
>0
3WT I
^ II
5 Samar. Ch. 31, 45-79.
378
WAB IN ANCIENT INDIA
3^: |
m II
goif: |
^ II
5i^5H?¥r55aSR^ ^IJ^OIT T^jftjpr: I
anr qi»df&r 2j«irf^ ii .
m ?n«ir ii
515?:^;^ =^ I
'Tft^f^^T; II
jg^IJ^: ^ 3^; I
?l^ IRf II
?I5^ f^: <f^5*ftqoi^r II
>0
5155^ I
ift^ ^ ^ =q II
^T wif^ ^ I
^iTR^ II
^ q^5TR^ I
^ 3 ^ ^ II
^ =^ ?F5n3^?il srf^qf^ il
cwr 5n??j3m^ ^ srrf^:
cIT: snR ftrsq^ |
s^sRfDTT n^|5^ 51^ s^JT^qiT: II
»i?qkT ?w #if2?rrfim i
ABRIAL AND NAVAL WARFARE
279
II 31 45-79.
An aerial car® is made of light wood looking like
a great bird with a durable and well-formed body
having mercury inside and fire at the bottom. Tt
has two resplendent wings, and is propollod by air. Tt
flies- in the atmospheric regions for a great distance,
and carries several persons along with it. The inside
construction resembles heaven created by Brahma him-
self. Iron, copper, lead and other metals are also used
for these machines. All these show how far art was
developed in ancient India in this direction. Such
elaborate descriptions ought to meet the criticism that
the vimanas and similar aerial vehicles mentioned in
ancient Indian literature should be relegated to the
region of myth’.
King Satrujit was presented by a Brahman GMava
with a horse named Kuvalaya which had the power of
II
Ibid., 96-99-
S80
WAE m ANCIKNT INDIA
conveying him to any place on the earth.'^ If it had any
basis in fact it must have been a flying horse. There are
numerous references both in the Visnupurdna and the
Makabhdrata where Krsna is said to have navigated the
air on the Garuda.® Either the accounts are imaginary or
they are a reference to an eagle-shaped machine flying in
the air. Subrahmanya used a peacock as his vehicle and
Brahma a swan. Further, the Asura, Maya by name, is
said to have owned an animated golden car with four
strong wheels and having a circumference of 12,000
cubits, which possessed the wonderful power of flying at
will to any place. It was equipped with various weapons
and bore huge standards. And in the battle between the
Devas and the Asuras in which Maya took a leading part,
several warriors are represented as riding birds.®
In the Ra/mdyana when Ravana was flying with
Sita in his aerial car to Lanka, Jatayu, a giant bird,
charged him and his car and this led to a duel between
the bird and the Rakf^sa king. Golikere draws atten-
tion to a number of instances where fierce duels have
been fought between man and bird of prey resulting in
the damage of the aeroplane and its inmates, in some
eases leading to a forced landing.'® Again, the Raksasa
Dronamukha offers Kis services to Ravana in his
encounter with the vanara hosts to fight them either on
the sea or in the sky or in subterranean regions." After
the great victory of Rama over Lanka, Vibhisana pre-
7 Mdrkanda Pur&m, ch. 20.
8 Fisutt Purdna, IV", ch. 30, 64-66; Harivamia, ch. 44.
9 BarivamSa, ch. 43.
' 10 Through the Wond&rlands of the Universe, pp. 124-126.
11 Tuddka. eh. 8. ^
AERIAL AND NAVAL WARFARE
281
sented him with the Puspaka vimana which was
furnished with windows, apartments, and excellent
seats. It was capable of accommodating all the vanaras
besides Rama, Sita and Laksmana.^^ Rama flew to his
capital Ayodhya pointing to Sita from above the places
of encampment, the town of Kiskindha and others on the
way. Again VMmiki beautifully compares the city of
Ayodhya to an aerial car.^®
The above allusions to the use of flpng machines
are not connected with actual warfare. The aerial
wars mentioned in ancient literature belong to the
daiva form, as distinguished from the manusa. An
example is the encounter between Sumbha and the
goddess Durga. {^umbha was worsted and he fell head-
long to the ground. Soon he recovered and flew up again
and fought desperately until at last he fell dead on the
ground.^ Again, in the famous battle between the
celestials and the Asuras elaborately described in the
Harivamsa, Maya flung stones, rocks and trees from
above, though the main fight took place in the field
below.^® The adoption of such tactics is also mentioned
in the war between Arjuna and the Asiira Mvata-
kavaca,^® and in that between Rarna and the Raksasa”
in both of which, arrows, javelins, stones and other
missiles were freely showered down from the aerial
regions. In the Vihramaurvaslya, we are told that king
Pururavas rode in an aerial car to rescue TJrvasi in
12 Ihid., ch. 123.
13 BaUt., ch. 5.
14 Markanda Pwdna, ch. 90.
16 Harivamsa, eh. 56.
16 Vana. ch. 172. Cp. Rama, V. 47.5, 33 : VI. 50.51.
17 Hrona. ch. 176, 50.
D— 36
f82
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
pursuit of the Danava who was carrying her away.
Similarly in the Uttarardmacarita in the fight between
Lava and Candraketu (Act VI) a number of aerial
cars are mentioned^® as being employed and it is further
said that the fiags and chowries with which these
cars were bedecked were set fire to and destroyed. News
of this reached Rama who flew immediately in his car
Puspaka and alighted on the spot. Knowing Lava to be
a tried and resolute soldier, Rama requested him to
withhold his missiles, to which he nobly agreed. There
is a statement in the Harsacaritd^^ of Yavanas acquainted
! with aerial machines. The Tamil work Jlvakaeintdmani
refers to Jivaka flying through the air.^®
But it has to be inferred that being very costly, their
use was more or less the exclusive privilege of kings and
aristrocrats. Another reason why they did not become
common is found in the following lines from the
Smnardnganasutradhdra :
5^1 ffTfrlTOi:
ma.
This supplies a certain clue to the right understand-
ing of the decline of this art The make and construction
of these contrivances were usually kept secret lest others
should get a knowledge of them and use them for wrong
ends.
18 JJttarafamacarita, Act. VI.
19 Da^i^opanatayayana nirmitena NabhastalayayinS yantra-
ySnena: VI ucchvSsa.
20 XIII. 2614. (6).
AERIAL AND NAVAL WARFARE
283
But to the common people and even to the military
officials, the use of carrier-pigeons was of the utmost
importance. There is enough to show that their use
was well known to ancient peoples. Pliny relates that
Brutus sent these pigeons, at the siege of Modena in
43 B.C., to his friends for help. Again, we find that
they were used in 1167 A.D. as a means of communication
between Syria and Bagdad. The letters were usually
fastened to the wings. Despite the improved methods of
communication by post and telegraph, even to-day they
have their value. Por when wars break out, there is
every possibility that postal and telegraphic communi-
cation will be cut oft or otherwise interrupted to the
great detriment of the belligerent parties. But no one
can prevent these birds from carrying information to
the desired destination. Therefore even to-day in some
coimtries in Europe the shooting and hunting of these
birds is treated as an offence and severely punished.®’^
Coming to our own coimtry, Kautalya also makes a side
reference to pigeon houses that served as military
stations, an indication of the use of the birds in early
days. This is perhaps why we find them among the
several presents given to kings.“
To conclude, the flying vimana of Rama or Ravana
was set down as but a dream of the mythographer till
aeroplanes and zeppelins of the present century saw the
light of day. The mohanastra or the “ arrow of uncon-
sciousness’^ of old was until very recently a creature of
legend till we heard the other day of bombs discharging
poisonous gases. We owe much to the energetic scientists
21 Hildebrandt, Airships Past and Present.
22 Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, p. 399.
384
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
and researchers who plod persistently and carry their
torches deep down into the caves and excavations of old
and dig out valid testimonials pointing to the misty
antiquity of the wonderful creations of humanity.®*
SECTION n
NAVAL WAEFARE
1/
vin Kautalya Arthasdstra^* the admiralty figures as
a separate department of the War Office; and this is a
striking testimony to the importance attached to it from
very early times. In the Bg Veda Samhitd boats and
ships are frequently mentioned. The classical example
often quoted by every writer on the subject is the naval
expedition of Bhujya who was sent by his father with
the ship which had a hundred oars (aritra.)^ Being
ship-wrecked he was rescued by the twin Asvins in their
boat. The writer in the Cambridge History of India,
however, is of opinion that the Vedic Indians did not
take part in ocean shipping, and bases his conclusion on
the negative evidence that the rudder, anchor and sail are
not mentioned in the Vedas.®* This argumentim, silentii
does not however prove anything. Though it cannot be
asserted from the meagre evidence available that naval
battles were fought in the Vedic period, yet the foreign
trade of India from prehistoric times cannot for a
moment be doubted. This extensive commercial inter-
28 Introduction to Indian Architecture, Vol. III.
24 Bk. II. ch. 28.
25 Rg Veda, I, 116.5; X, *101.2; cp. Vdjasaneyisamhitd, xxi, 7,
^aiapatha Brahmam, IV, 2.5.10.
Cambridge History,^, p. 101.
ASRIAli AND NAVAL WARFARE
285
course of India with foreign countries, including the
Mediterranean lands and the African continent,”
naturally led to piracy on the waters. There then arose
the need for the protection of sea-borne trade, and we
are told that “ at the outset the merchant vessels of India
carried a small body of trained archers armed with bows
and arrows to repulse the attacks of the pirates, but later
they employed guns, cannon and other more deadly
weapons of warfare with a few wonderful and delusive
contrivances.”^® These were probably the beginnings of
the ancient Indian navy.
(in the Santi Parvan of the Mahdhhdrata it is said
that the navy is one of the angas of the army.”
Examples of ships being used for military purposes
are not lacking.) When Vidura scented danger to
Kunti’s five sons, he made them escape to the forest
with their mother, crossing the Ganges in a boat
equipped with weapons having the power of with-
standing wind and wave.®” This may perhaps be put
down as river navigation. But in the Dig Vijaya
portion of the Sabha parva, it is said that Sahadeva
crossed the sea and brought many islands under his sway
after defeating the Mlecchas and other mixed tribes
inhabiting them. If this be an historical fact the
inference is irresistible that he could not have effected
his conquest without the use of boats and vessels.®^ We
27 See Dr. W. Vincent, Bk. IV : The Commerce and Nav^ation
of the Ancients, pp. 457 ff. and JMS., Vol. viii, pp. 77f. ; Warmington:
A History of Ancient Geography (Indian Ed. revised by M. Cary).
28 Ibid., pp. 78-79.
29 Ch. 59, 41.
30 Mhh., Adip>arva, ch. 143.,
31 Ibid., Sabha., 31.
§86
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
read in the Eamayma that Durmukha, a Bah^asa who
had been fired by the impulse of anger at the deeds of
Hanuman, offered his services to Rava^a even to fight
on the sea. There is testimony enough of the use of
a fleet for war puiposes, without which fighting on the
sea would not be possible.^ There are other references
here and there to ships in the Bamdyam. When
Hanum^ was crossing the ocean to Lanka, he is com-
pared to a ship tossed by winds on the high seas.®®
Sugriva speaks of Sumatra, Java and even the Red
Sea,®* when sending forth his monkey hosts in quest of
Sit^ The Amamkosa mentions a number of nautical
terms which stand for ship, anchorage (naubandhana),
the helm of the ship (naukarana), the helmsman (nau-
karanadhara).®® That there were ship-buMing yards
in different parts could be inferred from a significant
term navatakseni occurring in a copper plate grant of
Dharmaditya dated 531 A.D.®®
{^bout 517 B.C. according to Herodotus, Darius
launched a maritime expedition under Skylax of Cary-
anda to the Indus Delta, and during Alexander’s time,„
again, we read of the people of the Punjab fitting out a
fleet^ We have the testimony of Arrian to show that
the Xathroi (Ksatri), one of the Punjab tribes, supplied
Alexander during his return voyage with thirty-oared
galleys and transport vessels which were all built by
32 i
^ imm, ii ymio, s.s.
83 Sundara., 1, 6S; Tbid., 25.14.
34 Ki?kindha., ch. 40.
35 Cp. Varahamihira, Brhat Samhiti: chh. V and VH.
86 Ind. Ant, XIX. 198.’
AERIAL AND NATAL WARFARE
287
them.®^ Writing on the house of Euthydemos, Prof.
Rapson remarks: “ The Bactrian and Indian coins of
Antiochus with their types of ‘ Poseidon ’ and ‘ Victory ’
must refer to a naval triumph; and it is difficult to
explain the allusion except on the supposition that this
king had won a victory on one of the great Indian
rivers — the Indus or the Jhelum.”®® Prom this period
down to the invasion of the Muhammadans to India the
people of the Indus region showed their nautical skill in
piracy, so that the Persians built no city worth the name
on their sea-coast.®®
Further, it is said that Sura Asura hid himself in
the sea afraid of Subrahmanya, the god of war. The
latter met and vanquished him.^® Again, the Kalakeya
Aisuras secreted themselves under the sea during day
time after killing the Brahmanas during the night. If
these instances are not due to the flight of the imagina-
tion of the Purana writer and if any modern construction
could be put upon them, they point to the use of
submarines or of ships on the high sea in which they took
shelter. It is open to future research to settle the
question one way or the other.
Mdnavadharmasdstra refers to sea flghts and attests
to the use of boats for naval warfare.^ The sailor is
called naukakarmajiva.*® Thus in Yedic, Epic and the
Dharmasastra literature we And that naval warfare is
37 India amd Its Invasion by Alexander, p. 156.
38 Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, p. 54.
39 Contra. Kobertson: Disquisition, p. 160.
40 See Skanda Purana for details.
41 Mhb., Vana., Ch. 102.
42 Manu., VII, 192.
43 7b«2.,X.34.
386 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
mentioRed as a distinct entity, attesting a continuous
naval tradition from the earliest times.
Passing on to the other literary evidence, we
find in th^ Raghuvanisa frequent reference to boats
and ships. Raghu in the course of his digvijaya
conquered Bengal which was protected by a fleet
(nausadhanotyatan).^* In another place it is mentioned
that Raghu marched on Persia through the land route,
and not by the sea route, thereby showing that the latter
was the more common route.^®
(^As has been already stated, the Kautallya ArtJm-
Sdstra makes express mention of the Admiralty
as a department of administration. There was a
superintendent (adhyaksa) over this department. His
.iurisdiction included vessels bound for commerce also^
Kautalya distinguishes ocean routes {samudra samydna-
patha) from river routes and routes for coastal traffic
(kulapathd) Among the sea-going vessels men of war
also figure, bound for the enemy’s country (amitra-
visyatigah).^^ That Asoka continued to maintain a fleet
is evident from the wide diplomatic relations which the
emperor had with distant powers like the Hellenistic
monarchies of the Mediterranean. That the early
Andhras had a fleet of their own is borne out by the
more reliable evidence of coins. The coins belong-
ing to the reign of Pulumayi (and also of Yagnasri)
bear the figure of a two-masted sailing ship.^* The coins
were apparently issued to commemorate a naval
44 Raghu., IV. 36.
45 See MallinStha’s Comment. Tbid., 4. 60.
46 Book II, sec. 28.
47 See’Dikshitar: Mauryan Polity, pp. 367-68.
48 See Rapson’s Catalogue of Indian Coins, p. 22.
AERIAL AND NAVAL WARFARE
289
victory.*® During the epoch of the imperial Guptas a
naval force was maintained by the State, as is evident
from the inscriptions. The Allahabad prasasti of
Samudragupta refers to his conquest of several islands.®®
There is a reference to Jivita Gupta II ’s army, which
included a fleet of war boats.®^ Later, Harsa the emperor
is credited with possessing a fleet consisting of boats.
The YuMikalpataru of Bhoja, a medieval work of
value, mentions two classes of ships. One is of the
ordinary kind fbund in inland waters, of which ten
varieties are distinguished. Of these, two divisions
dirgha and imnata are mentioned according to the size.
Among the dirgha or lengthwise vessels figure ten boats.
These are dirghika, tarani, lola, gatvara, gamini, tari,
janghala, plavini, dharini and vegini. Unnata. boats are
five in number ; urddhva, anurddhva, suvarnamukhi, gar-
bhini and manthara.®^ Of these the class of ships which
went by the name of Agraraandira was utilised for naval
warfare (rane kale ghanatyaye).®®
Dr. R. K. Mookerjee quotes from Elliot’s History
of IndiaP* a long account of a naval fight between two
fleets in the eleventh century. It took place during the
seventeenth expedition of Sultan Mahmud to India.
Arriving at Multan, Mahmud ordered 1480 boats to be
built each with three iron spikes, one on the prow and the
other two on its two sides, so that whoever came into
49 See I.n.Q., VI, pp. 649-50.
50 Corpus, Ins. Ind., Ill, p. 14.
51 Ibid., p. 217.
52 R, G. Bhandarkar Comm. Volume, pp. 451-53.
53 p. 228.
54 Vol. II. 478.
D— 37
190
WiJt IN ANCIENT INDIA
c(»itact with it could be destroyed. Every ship was
furnished with two archers with bows and arrows and
also naphtha throwers. This force was opposed by the
Jats who sent their families to the islands and launched,
according to some, 4,000 boats, and, according to others,
8,000 boats manned and equipped for immediate engage-
ment. Both fleets met and fought desperately. Every
boat of the Jats was broken and capsized, resulting in
the drowning of several men. Others who were left
behind in the boats were all cruelly put to the sword.
Turning to the history of South India, we have
evidence to show that the country had trade and
culture contacts with foreign countries like Rome in
the west and the Malay Archipelago and Indo-China in
the east. Tavana ships laden with articles of merchan-
dise visited the west coast of India very frequently.^
There was active foreign trade between Tamil India
and the outer world at least from about the time of
Solomon, i.e. about 1000 B.C. Roman historians refer
to the commercial intercourse that existed between
Rome and South India.®® In the first century before
Christ we hear of a Pandyan embassy to Augustus
Caesar.®® The Sangam classics point to the profession
of pearl-diving and sea-fisheries on a large scale. We
hear of shipwrecks of the early Tamils saved now and
then by Manimekhalai, the goddess of the sea. These
instances are illustrative of the commercial relations
between South India and foreign countries. We have
55 See . P. T, Srinivasa Aiyangar : History of the Tamils,
ch. xvin.
56 For other activities about this period see the Periplus
translated by Schoff, p. 46.
AERIAL AND NAVAL WARFARE
291
the account of a Cera king conquering the Ka^Lamba
in the midst of sea waters.^^ The Cera king Senguttuvan
had a fleet with which he defeated the Yavanas who were
punished with their hands being tied behind their back
and the pouring of ghee and oil on their heads.^*
Prom the evidence of the Mahavamm as well
as from a few inscriptions we are able to gather
some information regarding the diplomatic relations
that existed between India and Ceylon. We have the
story of Vijaya and his followers occupying the island
about 543 B.C. Vijaya was a prince of North India who
was banished from the kingdom by his father. Passing
through the southern Maghada country he sailed to
Ceylon, according to the Bajdvali, in a fleet carrying
more than 700 soldiers, defeated the Yaksas inhabiting
it, and settled there permanently. This story is
illustrated in the Ajanta frescoes.
According to the Kasikudi plates, Simhavisnu, the
father of Mahendravarman, led an expedition to Ceylon
and completely defeated its king who w’as proud of the
strength of his arms.®® During the days of Narasimha-
varman I the confused politics of Ceylon made
Manavamma seek the help of the Pallava king, who
in recognition of the help given by the Ceylonese
prince in his conquest of Pulakesin II, twice supplied
Manavamma with an army to invade Ceylon. The second
expedition was marked by signal success, as a result of
which Narasimhavarman occupied Ceylon. According
to the Kasikudi plates, the conquest of Ceylon by Nara-
57 PadirmpaUu. V.
58 S. K, Aiyangar; Contributions of South India, p. 330.
69 -877., Vol. II pt. 5; p. 856.
292
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
simliayarman excelled the glory of Rama’s conquest of
that island.*® Nrpatunga appears to have helped the
Pandya king Sri Mara in the latter’s expedition to
Ceylon.®^ According to the Vayalur pillar inscription,
there seems to be an indirect but certain reference to the
conquest of the Laccadive islands by Rajasimha.*^
Negapatam and Mamallapuram appear to have served
as naval bases during the days of the Pallavas; and
during that period culture and commercial contacts
continued to be maintained in the Far East. This is
evidenced by the Nandikkalamhakam and the Takuapa
inscription.** The ship type of coins of the Pallavas is
another evidence of their naval activities.
The Pandyan kings had close relations with
Ceylon. Sri Mara’s expedition to Ceylon has been
referred to earlier. In the wars of Rajasimha with
Parantaka he was helped by the Ceylonese king. When
there was a dispute between Parakrama Pandya and
Kulasekhara, regarding the succession to the Pandyan
throne the Ceylonese ruler sent, on request from the
former, a naval brigade under Lankapura Dandanayaka,
who after defeating Kulasekhara erected a pillar of
victory. Incidents like these show that the kings of the
south as well as the ruler of Ceylon had each a well
equipped fleet.
Likewise the Chalukyas had a strong navy. The
Nilgunda Plates of Vikramaditya VI say that king
Maiigalisa of the early Western Chalukyas fitted out a
60 Ihid.: MahdvamSa, ch. 47.
61 Ep. Ind., xviii, p. 13.
62 Ibid., p. 152.
63 See, for example, stanzas 46, 54 etc. : J.O.R. VI, pp. 300 ff.
AERIAL AKD NAVAL WARFARE
293
naval expedition against the island of Revati and
captured it.®^ The Aihole inscription credits Pulakesin II
with the reduction of Puri with a fleet of 100 vessels,®®
while the Kendur plates of Kirtivarman II state that
Vinayaditya, the grandson of Pulakesin II, subjugated
Ceylon with war boats.®®
The Cholas also maintained a strong fleet with which
they not only invaded and subjugated Ceylon frequently
but also undertook oversea expeditions. Parantaka
invaded Ceylon, but his attempt was not a success. Like-
wise during the days of Sundara Chola there was an
unsuccessful expedition against Ceylon. Among the
conquests of Rajaraja, Ceylon was one and his invasion
of that island finds expression in the Tiruvalangadu
plates®^ where it is described as follows:
‘ Rama built, with the aid of the monkeys, a
causeway over the sea and then slew with great difficulty
the king of Lanka by means of sharp-edged arrows.
But Rama was excelled by this (king) whose powerful
army crossed the ocean in ships and burnt the king of
LankA’
Rajaraja also sent an expedition against the Twelve
Thousand Islands, obviously a reference to the Lacca-
dives and Maldives.®* Friendly embassies were also sent
by the Chola king to China.
The oversea expeditions of Rajendra are more
striking. He conquered Ceylon and took the crown of
64 Ep. Ind., XII, p. 1^1.
65 Ibid., VI, No. 1.
66 Ibid., IX, p. 205.
67 S.I.I., iii, p. 421.
68 Ibid., ii, p. 48.
394
WAR m ANCIENT INDIA
the king and the more beautiful crown of his queen.
The greatest feat of arms performed by Rajendra was
the conquest of Katoam and other places across the
sea. Numerous ships carried the troops of Rajendra to
Sri Vijaya and its dependencies which he conquered.
Among the places conquered were Pannai (Pani or
Panel on the east coast of Sumatra), Malaiyur (at the
southern end of the Malay Peninsula), Ilang^okam (in
the Malay Peninsula), MappappMam (a place in the
Talaing country of Lower Burma), Talaittakkolam
(modern Takkola in the west coast of the Malay Penin-
sula), MudammMingam (a place facing the gulf of
Siam), Ilamuridesam (the country in the northern part
of the island of Sumatra), Nakkavaram (the Nicobars).*®
Besides, active trade was carried on between South India
and China during the period. At the end of the 10th
century the Chinese emperor sent a mission to the Chola
king with credentials under the imperial seal and
provisions of gold and piece-goods to induce the f oreign
traders of the South Sea and those who went to foreign
lands beyond the sea for trade to come to China.
During the reigns of the successors of Rajendra
there were frequent wars between the Cholas and the
Ceylonese with whom the Pandyas were often in league.
In 1077 Kulottunga I sent an embassy to the Chinese
court for trade purposes. The men who visited the court
‘ were given 81,800 strings of copper cash, i.e., about as
many dollars in return for the articles of tribute
comprising glassware, camphor, brocades (called
69 For other names and identification see the learned article
M. Coedes in the Bulletin de V Ecole Frangalse d' extreme Orient,
1918.
AERIAL AND NAVAL WARFARE
295
Kimhwa in the Chinese text), rhinoceros horns, ivory,
incense, rose water, putchu asafoetida, borax, cloves,
etc.’’^® About 1090, the king of Sri Vijaya sent an
embassy to the court of Kulottunga I after having built
a vihdra at Solakulavalli Pattinam, probably the modem
Negapatam. The facts clearly show that the Cholas
maintained supremacy over the sea and kept a strong and
powerful navy which was useful not only for carrying
on extensive commerce with foreign countries but also
for conducting military expeditions.
During the days of the Kakatiyas of Warangal,
Motupalle (Guntur District) was the chief port on the
east coast. Ganapatideva, the Kakatlya ruler, extir-
pated piracy on the sea and made the sea safe for
commerce with foreign countries like China and
Zanzibar. This policy was pursued by Rudramba, his
daughter.
The Vijayanagar kings also claimed supremacy
over the sea. Since the days of Harihara I the rulers
of Vijayanagar took the title of the Lord of the
Eastern, Western and Southern oceans; and there M’-ere
300 ports in the empire.’^ According to Ferishta. the mVr
of Ceylon kept ambassadors at the Vijayanagar court and
sent rich presents to the king every year. Virupaksa
the son of Harihara H is said to have conquered Ceylon
and set up a pillar of victory in the island.'’^ Abd-ur-
Razak says that (Lakkanna) Dannaik, the Prime Minis-
ter of Devarlaya II, went on a voyage to the frontier of
Ceylon.” Devaraya II is credited in an epigraph with
70 See K. A. Nilakanta Sastri: The Colas, II, pp. 25-26.
71 Elliot: History of India, IV, p. 103.
72 S. K. Aiyangar: Sources, p. 53; E.I., iii, p. 228.
73 Sewell : A Forgotten Empire, p. 74.
m WAR IN ANCIENT JtNDIA
ha#Qg levied tribute from Ceylon (IIom tirai
Besides, Devaraya collected tribute from foreign coun-
tries like Pegu and TenasserimJ® Ludovico Vartbema
who visited the Vijayanagar kingdom in 1504 mentions
that the Vijayanagar king was then waging a war with
Tenasserim.^* Krsnadevaraya, Acyutaraya and Sada-
^ivarSya each claims to have invaded Ceylon.
The activities of the Vijayanagar fleet on the west
coast are also referred to by the Portuguese. Timoja
who commanded the Vijayanagar fleet in 1506 “ was
entrusted with the task of waging perpetual war with
the Goa ” which was then the possession of the Bijapur
Sultans.
The Vijayanagar kings sent friendly embassies to
foreign courts. Bukka I sent an embassy through his
chief explainer to the court of Taitsu, the king Emperor
of China, with tributes and large presents, among which
was a stone which was valuable in neutralising poison.'^'^
These indicate in unmistakable terms that the Vijaya-
nagar kings, as the Imperial Choi as, continued to have
a good navy and retained the command of the seas.
But however interesting it may be, we have little
information about the administration of the naval
department and the building of ships. In the Vijaya-
nagar days according to Rice the department appears to
have worked under an officer called the Naviyadaprabhu.
He was stationed at Mangalore and acted Admiral of
74 144 of 1916; Bep., p. 60.
75 Sewell, op. cit, p. 302.
76 Varthema, Itinerary, p. 74.
77 Bretschneider ; Med. Researches, II, p. 211. Ind. Ant. XL,
p. 140.
' i ' AXRIAL AND NAVAL WARFARE 297
the fleet He seems to have worked under the super-
vision of the Prime Minister or the Commander-in-
Chief There was a squadron stationed off Bhatkal,
with Goa probably as headquarters.™
Some of the places where ships were built in
South India were Calicut, Cochin, besides the Maidive
Islands. Regarding the size of the Indian ships we have
conflicting accounts, beginning with those of the Arab
travellers in the ninth and tenth centuries and ending
with Vasco da Gama in the sixteenth century. Sulaiman
remarks that the people of the Maldives “ built ships
and houses and executed all other works with a con-
summate art
The description of ships by John of Montecorvino
may be taken to be illustrative of Indian ships. He
says: “ Their ships in these parts are mighty, frail and
uncouth with no iron in them and no caulking. They
are sewn like clothes with twine. And so if the
twine breaks anywhere there is a breach indeed. Once
every year therefore there is mending of this more or
less if they go to sea. And they have a frail and flimsy
rudder, like the top of a table, of a cubit in width, in the
middle of the stem, and when they have to tack, it is
done with a vast deal of trouble, and if it is blowing
78 E.C. viii, Sb. 468.
79 See New Review, Vol. XIV. Dec. 1941. Here B. A. Saletore
examines the naval policy of the Marathas. Based on the writings
of two Maratha authors Krishnaji Anant Sabbasad and Ramaehandra
Pant Amatya, the men-of-war are mentioned as the gurab, the
galabat, the tarandi, the tarav, the shibad, and the pagar. The fleet
is said to be under the command of a Subhedar or Sarsubha. There
was a decline of the navy under the Peshwas.
80 Farrand, Voyage, p. 32.
D ' 88
S98
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
in any way hard, they cannot tack at all. They have
but one saU and one mast and the sails are either of
matting or miserable cloth. The ropes are of husk.”“
Indian ships appear to have been small in size. Barbosa
observes that the Moors built keeled ships of a thousand
and a thousand two hundred hahares burden, which
would be about 224 tons.®* Varthema’s account of the
ships built at Calicut shows that the ships were generally
200 tons.*® According to Nicolo dei Conti, the carrying
capacity of the ships was estimated at 2,000 butts or
about 60,000 cubit feet.
In a large number of cases the merchant ships
were converted into war vessels during times of war.
Though the subject of Indian navigation is very
interesting, it has been only very partially worked, as
the material for the proper study of the subject is still
scanty.
81 Ytile, Cathay, iii, pp. 66-67.
82 Vascoda Gama, The First Voyage, p. 128.
83 Varthema, Travels, p. 154.
CHAPTER Vra
DIPLOMACY AND WAR
SECTION I
HISTORY OP DIPLOMACY
Notwithstanding the elaborate rules of war laid
down in the epics and the law-books, insisting in the
main that to wage war was the duty and privilege of
every true Ksatriya, in several cases the horrors of
war made the belligerents think of the consequences and
avoid outbreak of hostilities by a well calculated policy
which we now term diplomacy. A recent writer says;
Diplomacy is the name for a method of negotiation,
persuasion and conciliation for promoting the common
interests of different nations, and adjusting those
interests which are opposed. Without the diplo-
matic system war would be more frequent than it is.
Behind the diplomatic system, however, lie the prepara-
tions for war: and in certain forms of policy, the threat
of war is used as an instrument of diplomacy.’^ It will
be shown, in the sequel, how exactly this concept was
enunciated and realised in ancient India. It may be
noticed at the outset that the words negotiation, persm-
'mon and conciliation are mere translations of the
, terms soma, dana and hJieda, and the expression ‘ threat
; of war ’ may be equated with danda. These four were
the cardinal points of the ancient Indian diplomatic
system, and were effective instruments in averting many
I C. D. Bums, Wan, pp. 81-3.
300
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
a war, which would otherwise have resulted in much
bloodshed and economic distress.*
*/ The political term for diplomacy is naya, and in
the opinion of Kautalya, the eminent politician of the
4th century B.C., a king who understands the true
implications of diplomacy conquers the whole earth.®
The history of diplomacy in ancient India com-
mences with the Rg Veda Samhitd, and the date of
its composition may be taken as far back as the
Chalcolithic period.^ In the battles the help of Agni is
invoked to overcome enemies. He is to be the deceiver
-of foes.® For it is said in another hymn that his
_foes are full of deceit.® In pursuing his mission to
a successful end, the use of spies is mentioned.’ This
bears eloquent testimony to the system of espionage
« prevalent so early as the time of the Bg Veda Samhitd.
In the battle of the Ten Kings described in the seventh
. mandala,® we find the diplomacy of rulers getting
supplemented by its association with priestly diplo-
„ macy,® which exercised a healthy influence on the
_ constitutional evolution.
2 Attention may be drawn to Kalidas Nag’s book in French
Lea Theories Diplomatigues de V Inde Ancienne et V ArthaSastra
(Paris, 1923) of which I have published a translation in the Journal
of Indian Hidory, Madras, 1926-27.
3 TO: sSfi I
4 See my note on the Culture of the Indus Valley {Madras
University Journal, 1934, January).
15 JSF., iv, 15.4.
' 6 Ibid., iii, 18.1.
7 lUd., iv, 4.3.
8 Ibid., vii, 18.33.
, 9 See Nag., op. cit., p. 10.
DIPLOMACY AND WAE
801
The diplomatic system gained more and more
importance with the march of time. By the epoch of the
Athapva Veda Samhita}^ we find the monarch as the
centre of Hindu diplomacy occupying a seemingly
absolute position, but subjected to discipline by his
Purohita and public opinion. In this respect the ancient
king differed from the Archon Basileus of Athens and
the Rex sacrorum of early Rome.
According to a hymn in the Atharva Veda
Samhitd,^ Varuna had a number of spies who were
thousand-eyed and who went forth hither and thither.
This hymn, read along with other hymns in that Veda
praying that the King may be invested with victory in
battle, shows the diplomatic practices then in vogue.
The Atharva Veda recommends the conquest of enemies
more by artifice and stratagem and by spells and
incantations.
By the time when the Atharva Veda was composed,
the kernel of the Mfiihahhdrata and the Bamayav^ had
come into existence. In these books we find the king
gaining more power and influence. War and diplomacy
have come to stay. They are no more in their primitive
stage, but have become developed institutions. The
tribal system has given Jflace to qiganised communities,,
|a good number of which took a leading part in the great
|)attle between the P^davas and the Kauravas.“ Even
in the first parvan of the great epic, the Adi Parvan, we
find a chapter (143) which discloses a stifling atmosphere
of court intrigue and currents and cross-currents of
10 A.V., iii, iv, 1-6.
11 im., iv, 16.4.
12 See for details JBAS,. 1908-— Pargiter’s paper.
302 WAE nJ AJ^CIENT INDIA.
negotiation. There is then a discourse on diplomacy
f>y a toth^ghed, JMomat, Ka^ika^ '"pSchaj^ the
^a^ika-Bharadvaja of the Arthasdstra, to the blind and
|aged Bhrtar^tra, jealous of the P.^davas:
“ Kings should ever be ready with upraised sceptre
and they should ever extend their prowess carefully
|avoiding all faults of theirs; they should ceaselessly
iwatch for the faults of other.
, ^ at « #
“ He (a king) should so act as others (his enemies)
may not find any fault in him. But he should see the
fault of others. He should keep his resources concealed
as does a tortoise his members of the body.
“ Having begun a particular act, he should always
accomplish it. A thorn, if not wholly extracted, pro-
duces a festering sore.
I “ The killing of a harmful foe is always praise-
worthy. If he be powerful, if he be escaping, if he be
a great warrior, one should watch for the hour of his
disaster, and then kill him without any scruple. O, son,
if the enemy be weak, still he should not be scorned.
A spark of fixe can consume a forest if it can spread
from object to object.
“ They (kings) should sometimes feign deafness
and blindness; for, if they are incapable of chastising
they should pretend not to notice the faults. They should
then consider their bows as made of straw, but they
should be as watchful as a herd of deer sleeping (in the
woods).
“ When your enemy will be in your hands, destroy
him by any means, open or secret. Dp not show him
any mercy, though ^he seeks your prohwtion.
DIPLOMACY AND WAR
803
An old enemy should be killed even by winning
him over by wealth. Thus you must be free of anxiety,
for there is no fear from a dead man.
“ Destroy all the three, five and seven sources of the
enemy; you must destroy them by uprooting them.
“ Then you should destroy their allies and partisans.
If the root is destroyed, they (allies) can never exist.
“ If the root of the lord of the forest (tree) is
uprooted its branches and twigs can never exist as
before. Carefully conceal your own weaknesses and
watch those of your enemies.
“ O, king, you should rule over your kingdom, ever
being very watchful. By maintaining the perpetual fire,
by sacrifices, by brown cloths, by matted locks and skin
cloth, you should first gain the confidence of men (your
enemies) and then you must spring upon them like a
wolf. It is said that in earning wealth, hypocrisy is a
cheap means. As a hooked staff is used to bend down
the bough of a tree to pluck the ripe fruits, so this
method should be adopted in destroying one’s own
enemies.
“ Carry your enemy on your shoulder till the time
comes when you can throw him down and break him
into pieces as an earthen vessel is broken being thrown
on stones.
“ Ah enemy should never be allowed to escape, even
if he piteously addresses you. You ought not to show
him any mercy; he must be slain at once.
** l^emies should be destroyed by the arts of cap-
(fixation, or tKp e;^endi.ture of money, or by pyoducing
-ftWbhgst his allies, or ty the employment of
yaw. PoweR ’*
Being furtEer asked by Dhrtarastra to give him
S04
WAR IN ANCISNT INDIA *
in detail the arts of ^ucdliatio]^ Ka^a proceeds to
narrate them. Its substance, is as follows: The king
should destroy by incantations, by gifts of wealth, by
poison or by deception the enemy even if he be his own
-son, friend, father, or preceptor. In so doing, he should
utter^soft words, and after hitting should pity the victin;^
and even shed tears over him. Securing confidence
by conciliation and gift of wealth, or by any means, the
enemy must be destroyed so effectually that he may not
raise his head afterwards. Spies should act as diplo-
matic agents. Just like a fisherman catching and killing
a fish, the king should tear the vitals of the enemy under
a pretext. In getting rid of the enemy the king should
be razor-like, sharp, and shining when opportunity
occurs.
If this discourse, which smacks of Machiavellianism
in a sense, is read together with what Bharadvaja is said
to have narrated on the same subject to Satrujit, the
king of the Sauviras, in the §anti Paryan, we can
perceive that there are certain differences, though in
fundamentals there is agreement between them. Despite
these diplomatic intrigues, the J*a5da'''as came out
successful and were treated to an excellent discourse by
fl^e sage Narada, versed especially in the six-fold policy
be a refreshing contrast to know the views
of Narada on diplomacy.^^
“ With the six attributes of kings (viz., cleverness
of speech, readiness in providing means, intelligence in
dealing with the foe, memory, and acquaintance with
morals and politics), doest thou attend to tHe seven
18 Sobhaparvo, V, 20 fl. (Tram. P. C. Bay).
/
DIPLOMACY AMD WAR
305
means (viz., sowing dissensions, chastisement, concilia-
tion, gifts, incantation, medicine and magic) ? Examinest
;hou also, after a survey of thy own strength and weak-
less, the fourteen possessions of thy foes? These are
he territory, forts, cars, elephants, cavalry, foot-soldiers,
he principal officials of state, the zenana, food supply,
Bomputation of the army and income, the religious
treatises in force, the accounts of state, the revenue,
wine-shops and other secret enemies. Attendest thou to
the eight occupations (agriculture, trade, etc.) after
having examined, and made peace with thy enemies?
O bull of the Bharata race, thy seven principal officers
of state (viz. the governor of the citadel, the commander
of the forces, the chief judge, the general in interior
command, the chief priest, the chief physician, and the
chief astrologer), have not, I hope, succumbed to the
influence of thy foes, nor have they, I hope, become idle
in consequence of the wealth they have earned? They
are, I hope, all obedient to thee. Thy counsels, I hope,
are never divulged by the trusted spies in disguise, by
thyself or by thy ministers? Thou ascertainest, I hope,
what thy friends, foes and strangers are about? Makest
thou peace and makest thou war at proper times?
Observest thou neutrality towards strangers and persons
that are neutral themselves towards thee.
•
“ Seekest thou to know everything about the
eighteen tirthas of the foe, and fifteen of thine own,
by means of three spies acquainted with one another?
O Slayer of all foes, watchest thou all thy enemies with
care and attention, and unknown to them?“
» » * «
14 ihid.
I>-89
WAS IN ANCIENT INDU
m
“ Marchest thou, without loss of time, and reflecting
well upon three kinds of forces, against thy foe when
thou hearest that he is in distress? O, subjugator of all
fo^, beginnesi_thou thy inarch when the time comeffi,)^’
having taken into consideration all the omens you might
see, and convinced that the resolutions thou hast formed,
and defeat in their execution, depend upon the twelve
majgdalas (such as reservog^ mid ambuscades, „§tc.)j, and
having paid the troops their pay in advance? And,
O persecutor of all foes, givest thou gems and jewels,
as they deserve, unto the principal officers of thy enemy,
without thy enemy’s knowledge? 0 son of Partha,
seekest thou to conquer thy incensed foes that are slaves
to their passions, having first conquered thy own soul
and obtained the mastery of Jhy own senses? Before
thou marchest out against thy foes, dost thou properly
w^lqy the four arts, conciliation, gift (of wealth),
producing disunion, and application of strength?
0 monarch, goest thou out against thy enemies, having
fir§t strenj^thened thy own kingdom ? And having gone
out against them', exertest thou to the utmost to obtain
victory over them? And having conquered them,
seekest thou to protect them with care ? ” “
In the foregoing texts there is a very important
term, vjpadh^ The^ term upadM anticipates the dipig-
mSic eode of Kaui^ya. The theory has been pro-
1 pounded that Kautalya is a close follower of the school
[of Kanika and that his principles are Machiavellian.^®
15 Tbid.
16 See Beni Prasad : The Theory of Oovemment in Ancient
India, pp. 60-61. K. V.-Rangaswami Aiyangar in Some Aspects of
Anaient Indian Polity, pp. 114-15 shows similarities but insists that
Macluavelli has been unfairly traduced.
DIPLOMACY AMD WAtt
307
I have pointed out elsewhere^^ that this is not quite the
correct view and cannot stand critical examination.
Comparing impartially the principles formulated by
Ka^ika with those of Kautalya, we note that the
i^utaliyan code is not vitiated by intrigues and cruelty
m uHer djsrega^ of ail mo^’gility. Kautalya ’s political
[philosophy is of a high order and can fitly be compared
with the theoretical principles furnished by the sage
Narada, to which we have already referred. The
fimdamental idea common to both is that ‘ conquest
is jiot an end in .itself ; victory is counter-balanced by
responsibilities, and acquisitions by the necessity of
having to provide for safeguarding them
Let me now proceed to trace in general outline the
diplomacy of the Kautaliya.^** The basis of diplomacy
is distinguished by seven elements (prakrti).“ These
are the svamin (king), amatya (ministers), janapada
(kingdom), durga (fortress), kosa (treasure); danda
(army), and mitra (allies) and are regarded as
veritable elements of sovereignty. But sovereignty,
according to Machiavelli, Hobbes and Hegel, seems io
involve no moral responsibility. In other words, the
State acts ‘ without regard to a moral standard.’** An
examination of the conditions which existed in ancient
India in diplomatic practice does not warrant the
conception of ‘ unmoral ’ or ‘ irresponsible ’ sovereignty.
17 See March, 1927.
18 See Dikshitar : Hindu Administrative Institutions, p. 274.
19 Nag: op. cit., ch. iv.
20 Ibid., Bk. VI, ch. ii.
21 Cp. Agni Purdva, ch. 238; Manu, IX, 294; Ydjn. I. 352;
l§ukra, I. 61.
22 See Bums : op. cit., pp. 917-98.
308
WAR IN ANCIRNT INDIA
AiDDng the seven elements, the svamin or king was the
pivot of the whole system, and his office carried with
it grayp and great responsibilities (svami sampat).
There is'a catalogue of virtues expected of a good king.*®
According to Kautalya, sovereignty depends on the co-
operation of the svamin with the other elements like
ministers, army, etc. Great care was to be taken in
choosing the right type of men as councillors.^ We are
given an ideal description of a kingdom and a fortress,
the third and fourth elements of sovereignty.^® A rich
treasury, a hereditary army, mainly composed of
Ksatriyas, and loyal allies are the last three elements,
which are rightly emphasised.
We pass on to the sphere, of actiop.^^^ which goes by
the name of Mandala. its conception being essentially
iiynamic. Except the madhyama and udasina, the other
ten of the ]pjaprakfti form the ten diplomatic zones. .
Whe ‘ circle qtf_ states ’ is known as the man4<^la group.
The credit for the invention of this new policy is
^attributed to Sukracarya.^* We must not confoimd this
mew political theorist with the author of the treatise now
extant and edited by Dr. Oppert. Undoubtedly the
; reference is to a work lost now. It is certainly
not unreasonable to conjecture that ^ukracarya. the
Purohit of the Asuras and a finished master of Vedic
23 Cp. Kama, IV. 6-23.
24 Bk. I, ch. ix.
25 Bk. II, ch. 21.
26 Bk. VII, ch. 116.
27 Ar. &as., VI. 2; C3p. Kama. VIII, 43-90; ^uTira, IV, 1.140;
Agnipur&na, 232; mtsya, I, 344; Mam, VII. 154-58.
28 K&ma., VIII, 22.
DIPLOMACY AMD WAR
809
literature, took this idea from the Vedic rituals.*®
“ Prajapati, the God of Creation, once thought to him-
self, ‘ May I become greater? ' For this he practised
fervour. On this he was struck with what is known as
the twelve-day rite. He grasped it at once and went
t]irough the sacrifice with it. He encircled the twelve-
^ay rite with the fortification of Gayatri and won glory
ahd prosperity. He who understands this is sure to
prosper. Further, Prajapati addressed the seasons and
the months to sacrifice with him in the twelve-day rite.
Those of the first half joined as allies in it, by which
evil was effectively removed. The other half did not
join in the sacrifice, and hence were regarded as enemies.
He who realises this could do away with evil.” It may
be said that the circle of twelve states with allies and
enemies could have been evolved from this conception
of the twelve-day rite. For it is said to consist of
12 kings, who, according to Kautalya, are Yijigigu (the
invader'). Ari (immediate enemy), Mitra (invader’s
ally), Arimitra (enemy’s ally), Mitramitra (invader’s
ally’s ally), Amitramitra (enemy’s ally’s ally), Parsni-
graha (rear enemy), Akranda (rear friend), Parsni-
grahasara (ally of rear enemy), and Akrandasara
(ally of a rear ally).®® Behind are the madhyama and
the udasina, wrongly interpreted by Shama SastrP as
‘ mediatory ’ and ‘ neutral ’ kings. Dr. H. K Law is
right when he explains the term as * medium ’ and
‘ super ’ and assigns them a right position in the circle.
The Madhyama is thus a stronger power inter-
29 Ait Bra., IV. 23 ; XIX. 1 ; IV. 25. (19-3).
30 Bk. VI, ch. 2.
31 Trans, p. 290 (Third Ed.). '
810 WAE IN ANCIENT INDIA
Mediate between the Viji^su or the Ari on the one hand
land the Udasina on the other. Both these are states of
piigher grades of strength perhaps ‘ to meet emergencies
tof references to such powers.
The Viji^u seems to have been invariably an
' emperor lording it over the states of the circle. That it
was so is seen from the Raghuvamsa where Kalidasa,
the immortal poet, characterised Dasaratha as the central
monarch of a mandala of twelve kings. The term
Vijigisu occurs in the Puranas and means the conquering
king.^
The Mitdksam on the verse I. 345 of the YdpiOr
valkya smrti has some interesting points on the mandala
' question. There are different versions as to the consti-
tution of a circle of states. Some fix the number at four,
six or eight, and others at twelve. Immediate neighbours
are hostile to each other, and those succeeding the first
circle or the immediate neighbours are allies to the king
at the centre. The centre of the circle is composed of the
conquering king (Vijigisu) and his immediate enemy
(Ari); and on the circumference are the different
mandalas of other States. Then follow orbits described
in accordance with the laws of attraction and repulsion,
primordial and fatal. This probably reflects the ancient
astronomical theories of the movement of the stars.
Thus the conception of Mandala is dynamic. The kings
residing in the surrounding circles are not neutrals, as
some scholars seem to opine. The Kautaliya speaks of
the four kinds of foreign rulers — ^Ari, Mitra, Madhyama,
Udasina.
Each of these States, just like the central state,
32 Inter-State relations in Ancient India, pp. 12. and 18.
DIPLOMACY AND WAB
811
possesses respectively ^kti or power which is power of
deliberation (mantra) with its adjunct of intellect, and
power of lordship (prabhu) with its adjunct of treasury,
and activity (utsaha) with its adjunct of heroic valour.®®
He who possesses more of everything is superior to the
other. Besides, each of them possesses the five veritable
elements of sovereignty: the minister, the country, the
fort, the treasury, and the army. These sixty elements
with the twelve kings form the seventy-two elements of
a State.®*
We notice this mandala idea in the Asramavasa
Parvan of the Mahdhharat'a.^ This portion of the
Mdhdhhdrata follows the Kaiitalvan principles and
must be taken to be only later additions. It mentions
the twelve mandalas and distinguishes four kinds of
enemies. It is said that these twelve, as also the sixty,
having ministers for their foremost, should be looked
after by the king. On these are said to depend the
Sadgunya. Or rather the attributes of these sixfold inci-
dents rest on the seventy-two elements (12 and 60). and
if this is carefully understood, a king might feel desirous
of conquering the whole earth. We shall examine in
the sequel the sixfold incidents. The foregoing survev
makes one thing clear, viz. the increasing power of
the ministers in the ArtJiosdstra polity as contrasted
with the king as the moat important figure in the politv
of the epic age. As we have it in modem times, the
policy expressed through diplomacy was primarily in
the hands of ministers of State in the fourth century
33 S.T.R., V. 7. 14-39.
34 Ar. Sas., VI, 1.
35 Ch. VT, 1-6. See also MSgha’s Siiupdlavadha, canto. IT.
81S Wab in ancient india ^
B.C., as it is definitely laid down that the king can do
nothing of his own will without consultation with his
councillors. Hence the ministers are prominently men-
tioned among the seven elements and the seventy-two
elements as well. It would be surely wrong to bring this
kind of sovereignty into line with the idea of an unmoral
and irresponsible sovereignty propounded by European
writers of the Machiavellian type.
section n
THE SIX-FOLD POLICY
§ddgunyam^^ has been translated in different ways,
such as sixfold incidents, sixfold policy, and sixfold
action or method.®’ These six methods are Sandhi or
peace, Vigraha or war, Asana or maintaining a post
against an enemy, Yana or preparedness for attack,
Samsraya or friendship, and lastly Dvaidibhava or
double-dealing or duplicity. There are differences of
opinion among political theorists with regard to their
number and classification. For instance, Vatavyadhi
says that Sandhi and Vigraha — peace and war —
form the basis of the sixfold policy. But Kautalya’s
theory comprehended all the six methods. The conditions
that determine the course of action are Daiva (provi-
dential) and Manusa (human). The former is either
naya or anaya (favourable or otherwise), whilst the
latter is either naya or apanaya (equitable or other-
36 Ar. Sds. II, p. 23 (Trivandrum Series) ; Rama, VI, 14.22
(lovindarfiia's Gloss.
37 Ar. Sss. VI, 98-99; Agmipurdna, Chs. 233, 239 ; Maim, VII,
159-180; IV, 7. 232; Kama', ch. 11. ,
DIPLOMACY AND WAR
31S
»■;
wise).®* These circumstances must be weighed in the
balance of K§aya (low ebb), Sthana (inactivity), and
Vrddhi (high tide), before a course of action is
determined upon.®® It is laid down that the invading
monarch should set out for conquest when the enemy is
slack and when his own State is in a condition of
prosperity, with soldiers and animals in good condition.*®
He must influence the movements of the madliyama and
udasvnta kings also, by any of the four expedients of
statecraft such as Sama (conciliation), Dana (gift),
Bheda (dissension), and Danda (coercion), or by using
all of them simultaneously. It must be his endeavour
to bring other kings under his dominion by such diplo-
matic methods.** For it is realised that war is an evil
and full of horrors and that it should be avoided as far
as possible. Kautalya, who is actuated by honest
motives, does not see anything dishonest or immoral in
the employment of diplomacy and he naturally assigns
to it a large place in the scheme of his work. This
he seeks to achieve, statesman as he is, by any kind
of entente. The nature of the entente rests upon the
strength and resources of the parties concerned.
Alliance (airaya) should be sought with good kings and
must be kept up to the end. Rama allied himself with
Sugriva against the unrighteous Vali and with Vibhisana
against the immoral Ravana. Of the six expedients to
be pursued in foreign policy by a conqueror, the first
is that peace may be concluded with equals and superiors.
38 Br. mu. VI. 1.
39 Ar. Sds. Bk. VI, ch. 2 ; Cp. Mhb., Asramavasa, ck. 6. 6.
40 J§dnti. 113; Sdrasdram halani; Ar. Sds. VII. 1; M(vnu, 7.157 ;
Ydj. I, 347-9.
41 Manu. VII. 159; Visntt. ch. iii.
D—40
314
WAB IN ANCIENT INDIA
i i SANDHI OB THE TREATY SYSTEM
This is a frank and open procedure in diplomacy.
To seek war would be ruinous to both the contending
parties. To undertake an operation against a superior
is like a foot-soldier opposing an elephant, and to make
war against an equal is but the coUj^on of imbaked mud
vessels against each other causing mutual destruction.**
But the inferior must be attacked and made to submit if
the differences cannot be amicably settled. There are
also cases where an inferior king may sue for alliance
with a superior by offering himself to help the latter
with army, wealth, or land. This is called the Hina-
sandhi**
The following is a list of entente methods under the
category of danda.** When the inferior king delivers
himself to a superior that entente is called atmamisa,
and when he offers as a hostage his general or
commander-in-chief or Crown Prince, it is purusantara.
If he is allowed to withdraw with his army, it is adrsta-
purusa. In case the treasury is offered, the entente is
parikraya (dependent on money), upagraha (depen-
dent on heavy charges), atyaya (harmful in space and
time), suvarna (dependent on indemnity), with their
opposite kapala (involving heavy indemnities). In case
land is surrendered, the entente is adista (by cession),
ucchinna (all land except the capital), apakraya (libe-
ration of the territory by imposts), and paribhusana (by
homage). These are the different kinds of alliances
entered into by inferior powers.
4f
42 Ar. ^ds. VIII. 3; Cp. Mallinatha on Raghu. 17-56.
43 Bk. VII. 3, p. 253. Vol. II. (Triv. Sans. Series).
44 Cp. fl'.r.R. 5. 11. 40-45.
DIPLOMACY AND WAB
316
Alliances may be temporary (calasandhi) or per-
manent (stliavarasandJii).^“ In other words, the latter
is stable and the former is pnly a time marking device.
The following is the list of alliances which may be made.
(1) Mitrasandhi (agreement with an ally on definite
terms), (2) Hiranyasandhi (for gold), (3) Bhumisandhi
(by acquisition of territory), (4) Karmasandhi (use of
army and treasury for common enterprises), (5) Anava-
sitasandhi (help in colonising an unsettled tract). These
are elaborately explained by Kautalya.*®
Dr. Nag takes mitra and hiranyasandhis as one
and hence he considers paripanitaparipanitapasrsti-
sandhi as the fourth. But we take mitra and
hiranyasandhi as two different agreements. The term
paripanitaparipanitapasrstisandhi is thus explained.
An agreement entered into in mutual faith is definite
(paripanita), and the others are indefinite (apari-
panita). We need not enter into the details of each of
these. It is enough to say that they were deemed
mutually advantageous and profitable in the long run.
But it is a deceitful alliance (atisandhi) when one has
the opportunity to overreach the other, whether equal
(sama) or unequal (visama).
The Kautaliya proceeds to trace the four different
stages in the evolution of a sandhi.*^ The first is termed
akrtacikir§a or peace with no specific end. Here the arts
of conciliation and other modes of diplomacy are
employed, and the rights of respective powers, equal,
inferior and superior, are clearly defined. The second is
45 Ar. S&s. VII. ch. 17.
46 Ibid., VII, chh. 9 to 12.
47 Ar. SSs. Vn, ch. 6.
316
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
IqiMle^a^am or peace with specific te^ns^ In this
case the agreement made continues intact, and its pro-
visions are strictly observed, through the medium of
common friends. The third is krtavidu§aaam or
violating the peace terms. If it is seen that one party
is treacherous and violates the terms of agreement
through the agency of traitors and spies, that agreement
is broken. The last is avaarna kriya or the restoration
of peace when broken. On a promise to observe the
provisions of the treaty strictly, a reconciliation is
effected. The restoration of the original compact
depends on the peculiar circumstances of the case. For
there can be no true reconciliation with those who break
the entente and then express a wish to join, offering no
satisfactory explanation of their previous action. The
same holds good with persons of outrageous conduct and
those who are unsteady. In formulating these principles,
a critical study of the relevant portions of the Artha-
sastra shows that its author is lenient to a fault. For
he lays down the rule that “ whoever annoys the enemy
should be accepted and he who does equal harm to both
should be politically examined ”.
Particular care is to be taken in making political
compacts. Kautalya condemns in unequivocal terms
indiscriminate alliances. It is said that a king should
not make peace with a minor, an old man, an invalid,
one deserted by his kith and kin, a coward, a greedy
man, an unbeliever in God, and other fourteen kinds
of disqualified men. But these must be fought and
conquered. I
VigmhaX Though seemingly utilitarian in his atti-
tude, Kautalya attaches more value to a diplomatic
struggle than to an armed contes^^ which goes by the
DIPLOMACY AND WAE 3l7
name of sangramika.^* Vigraha is a diplomatic contest,
and is but a means to the end, viz., to avoid regular
warfare.^® There can be no clearer indication of the
fact that laws of war and peace had already reached
a sufficiently high level in our land in those times. This
second line of action or the method of hostilities is,
according to the Sivatattvaratndkara, of eight kinds.®®
This indicates the progress of military science in the
diplomatic sphere. Kama Vigraha (a v/ar where love
of woman is the cause), Lopaja (a strife born of greed),
Bhu-vigraha (a struggle about some piece of territory),
Manasambhava (one due to the wounded sense of
honour), Abhaya (fighting for friends and relatives),
Icchaja (born of ambition), Madotthita (due to sheer
haughtiness and folly), and Ekadravyabhilasa (aiming
at a particular object). Though various causes contri-
buted to the outbreak of hostilities and though thirst for
military renown fired the zeal of the parties, yet proof
is not lacking to demonstrate that wars of aggression
were few and far between. It is further laid down that
a king must avoid sixteen different kinds of war®^ such
as those where the result is uncertain, where it is a viola-
tion of the existing treaty rights, where it affects the law
of international relations, where the strength of the
enemy cannot be calculated, where it would result in a
tedious and protracted war, and where adverse conse-
quences are certain.
48 Ibid. Bk. X.
49 Cp. Manu. VII, 107-8, 198-9.
60 Though a late work it is valuable as it transmits the Indian
tradition faithfully (5.11.46 f.)
51 8.T.R. 5.12.7 ff; Sukra IV, 7.250.
318
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
In this connexion it is interesting to read a section
in the Kautaliya entitled ‘ YatavyavrttL’®^ Here the
discussion centres around the conduct of an assailable
power. Here Kautalya gives a description of diplomatic
struggles carried on between attacking and attackable
poWers, every one of them trying to get an advantage
over the other.®® In the concept of Vigrahaka, there is
postponement of actual fighting even after war is
declared.®^ A bargain is effected with little or even no
profit, with an eye always to the future permanent gain.
This diplomatic war generally came to an end by ceding
soldiers, money, or an ally. It was realised that this
method was more profitable than that obtained by
regular wars.
Asana: The third method of asana is loosely
interpreted by some scholars as ‘ neutrality ’ ; but it may
mean ‘ holding a post against an enemy ’. It is of ten
kinds. These are Svasthana (to hold one’s own place),
Upeksa (indifference), Margarodha (blocking canals
and channels), DurgasMhya (possession of a fort),
Ra^travikarana (bringing the enemy under control),
Ramaniya (to maintain a post pleasantly), Nikat^ana
(defeating the enemy at a place near his own), Dura-
marga (selecting choice sites and owning them), Pralo-
pasana (stabilising his power in the conquered country)
and Paradhina (by taking refuge with a superior
king).
Some aspects of neutrality are implied by this term
asana. This opens the discussion on neutrality in
52 VII. 8.
63 See Nag : op. eit ch. iv.
64 Cp. Mam, VII, 161.
DIPLOMACY AND WAR
319
general. Wheaton has remarked: “ According to the
laws of war, observed even by the most civilised nations
of antiquity, the right of one nation to remain at peace,
while other neighbouring nations were engaged in war,
was not admitted to exist.”®® Surely, the political
theorist had not in mind the principles of ancient Indian
polity, however it may be true of ancient Greece and
Rome.®* According to Henry Wheaton, a State was
either an ally or an enemy. There was no intermediate
relation. But a careful study of the working of the
Hindu circle of States reveals a number of intermediary
relationships. Both the terms, Madhyama and TJdasina,
of which mention has been made, corresponded to what
we to-day understand by the neutral king. The TJdasina ’s
territory was the neutral zone, and here prevailed the
laws of peace in actual practice.
Kautalya defines the Madhyama thus : ‘ He is the
king who occupied a territory close to both the conqueror
and his immediate enemy in front and who is capable of
helping both the kings, whether united or disunited, or
of resisting either of them individually.’ The TJdasina
is that king ‘ who is situated beyond the territory of any
of the above kings and who is very powerful and capable
of helping the enemy, the conqueror, and the Madhyama
king together or individually.’®^ Thus both the Madh-
yama and the TJdaaina occupied interior zones, apart
from diplomatic zones. It is not quite possible to draw
a clear line of distinction between them. But still it has
55 Mements of International Law, p. 564 '(London, 1904).
56 See in this connexion S. V. Viswanatha: International Law
in Ancient India, ch. X.
57 Bk. VI, ch. ii, Shama Sastri’s translation.
390
WAR IN ANCISNT INOU
be«i said by some scholars that the Madhyama is more
a mediator than a pronounced neutral. In certain cases
it is true that the conqueror entered the Madhyama
territory, but there is no precedent for the invasion of
the Udasina kingdom.®* The Ud^ina pursued the
policy of non-intervention accepted by the diplomatic
code of the mandala.®*
To return to the term asana with which we are at
present concerned, it occurs in the Talgunda pillar
inscription.*® According to this epigraph the Kadamba
king Kakusthavarman observed the state of asana, and
was yet a terror to samantas and other chieftains. For
he possessed the three saktis (prabhu, utsaha and
mantra), and hence he had gained a spirit of mastery.
In the case of Kakusthavarman, it was a question of
armed neutrality. It is reasonable to conjecture that
Kautalya also envisages a condition of armed neutrality,
though these kings strictly remained neutral.®^
Yana: The • next method is ydna. Kautalya
explains ahhyuncai/o ydnam and Ganapati Sastri com-
ments saktidesakdla.*^^ It means preparedness to march,
having due regard to army, place and time. Different
kinds of this ydna are distinguished. The chief are
Sandhanaja (marching with ally), Parsnirodha (attack-
ing from the rear), Mitravigrahini (causing dissension
between his ally and the enemy), Dvandvaja (taking the
offensive without the crumbling of the defences), Nir-
vyaja (marching with an invincible army), Kulya
68 Ar. Sos. Bk, VII, ch. 18.
59 Cp. l§ukra IV, 7.237.
60 Ep. Ind. VII, No. 5, I 13.
61 See Viswanatha: op. cit, p. 196,
62 Vol. n, p. 238 (T. S. S. Series).
DIPLOMACY AND WAR
821
(helped by his enemy's vassals) and Sigragamini
(to pretend to march against one enemy, but suddenly
turn towards another).®® An invading king could
embark on a march after properly safeguarding his own
State, if he felt confident that he would be able to destroy
the enemy’s works.®* In a later section of the Kautaliya
the diplomatic utility of the ydna is furnished.®® If the
conqueror finds his enemy beset by troubles, and his
subjects disaffected and disunited, and his kingdom
ravaged by pestilence and other ills, then he may attack
(vigraha yanam). He could again resort to ydna if
he found his allies in front and in the rear of his
enemy j also he must get heavily backed by his own
subjects. There was the Sandhaya ymiam which was to
lead an expedition against the enemy in front after
making a peace with the rear enemy. The third was the
sambhuya-prayanam or preparedness for march by a
confederation of States of different resources, fixing the
ratio of the sp’oils to be taken by them.
Samsraya:*^ Samsraya was the fifth policy under the
category of sadgunyam. It literally means ‘ support ’
and in its broader sense means the seeking of the
support of allies. This state of affairs emerges when a
king feels that he has not the wherewithal to defend his
kingdom against a possible attack of the enemy and also
feels his inability to weaken otherwise the resources of
his enemy. It is the firmness of the prospect and of
deterioration moving on to well conceived strategy
63 S.T.R., 5.11.57 ff.
64 Ar. §as. VII, 1. •
65 Ibid., Vn, 4.
66 Cp. S.T.R., 5.12. 24-29.
D— 41
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
through vigorous efforts.®’ This was provided for by
an alliance with a ruler of supeiior powev There is in
the succeeding section an interestin^discussion which
centres round the nature of alliance. sAny alliance with
a great power may be tolerated as a stopgap. Permanent
arrangements stand condemned; perhaps there was the
fear and consequent gravity of strategic setbacks. A
weak king should wait for some opportunity by watching
the movements of his enemy, and if any such occasion
should occur, he must seize it promptly and remove him
from his path completely. If he, again, finds himself
situated between two strong powers, he must enter into
a compact with both of them and slowly set one of them
against the other, causing a dissension or division in
their ranks. At that time he may put each down
separately by secret or covert means. Since no risk
can be taken, an alliance must be entered into with
him in whom the king has complete confidence and
whose friendship is sincere and genuiney
Dvaidtbhdva : The sixth method of state policy in
respect of foreign relations is Dvaidibhava, which means
practising duplicity against one’s enemies invariably
through fear of them. Dr. Shama Sastri’s interpreta-
tion, ‘ making peace with one and waging war with
another ’, is thus subject to correction. Underneath
this policy lies an attitude of duplicity.®* The Srimulam
commentary®® explains the term as meaning the ‘ policy
of inducing in two enemies confidence by mere speech'
but behaving inimically in secret.” This policy is to be
67 Ar. Sas. VH, 1.
68 Ar. Vn, 1 ; Kdma. Ch. 11, 23 ff.
69 Vol. II, p. 238.
DIPLOMACY AND WAE
323
adopted only when help is not possible from any other
soui'ce, Kamandaka compares the behaviour of such a
conquering monarch to the eyes of a cow.^
This policy is set forth thus: ‘‘The conquering
king invokes the aid of his potential enemy. Ha%ing
combined with a neighbouring king, the conqueror may
march against another neighbouring king. Or, if he
thinks that ‘ my enemy will neither capture my rear
nor make an alliance with my assailable enemy against
whom I am going to march: I shall have double the
strength possessed by him, i.e., the enemy suing peace ;
(my ally) will not only facilitate the collection of my
revenue and supplies and put down the internal enemies
who are causing me immense trouble, but also punish
wild tribes and their followers entrenched in their
strongholds, reduce my assailable enemy to a precarious
condition or compel him to accept the proffered peace,
and having received as much profit as he desires, he will
endeavour to reconcile other enemies to me then the
conqueror may proclaim war against one and make peace
with another, and endeavour to get an army for money
or money for the supply of an army from among his
neighbouring kings.^^ It is rather difficult to make
out the exact recommendation in pursuance of the policy
of dvaidhlhhdva.
Five kinds of this policy are distinguished in later
literiiture.’^ These are Mithyacitta (to dislike one in his
heart of hearts but pretend to be friendly towards him),
70 Kama. XI, 23-6 ; Cf. Manu, VII, 160, Comm. Bar. SUtra, V,
6-7 ; Paficntantra Beconstructed, p. 360.
71 Bk. VII. ch. vii.
72 S.T.B., 6.12.80-41.
8^ ♦ WA3EI IN ANClfiNl' INDIA
Mithya-vacanasamjna (to speak out one thing while
having in miiid just the opposite), Mithyakararia (doing
things as if for his good,. but to subvert him in the end),
Ubhayavetana (to secretly accept illicit emoluments
from the enemy while continuing in his master’s ser-
vice), and Yugmaprabhrtaka (to pretend to collect men
and money for another’s expedition, but on the other
hand to serve his own purposes).'^®
SECTION m
INSTRUMENTS OP DIPLOMACY OR THE
SEVEN EXPEDIENTS
The application of the six methods of foreign
policy was through the four means of sama, dana, bheda,
and da:nda, either severally or jointly. According to the
Arthasdstra and the epics these are the recognized tradi-
tional expedients, which are found only in germ in Vedic
literature. The Pur^a literature and later niti works like
the Kamandaklya add three more to this fourfold classi-
fication.’^ These are upeksa, maya, and indrajala. This
shows unmistakably the slow but sure advance in the
art of war and peace, for the influence of diplomacy is
felt in both.
Let us now proceed to examine each of these several
modes of diplomacy, with regard to their nature and
application. The Matsya Purdna rules that one and the
same policy cannot be pursued at all times and towards
aU persons. In fact, the Purana sets forth the theory
that in the world the people are either righteous or
73 S.T.R.. 5.12. 31 f.
74 Se« Maisya P. ch. 222.2-3. K&ma. ch. 18.
DIPLOMACY AND -WAB
826
unrighteous, and therefore the application of the policy
should differ from person to person. For instance, it
speaks of a twofold classification of the first diplomatic
mode or sama. Sama literally means conciliation, and
according to the Puna^a there is the division into
satya sama and asatya stoia. While the first or satya
sama was applied to righteous beings, the asatya sama
was used towards the unrighteous. The righteous king
was easily reconciled when an earnest appeal was made
to his ancient family traditions, and when his action in
other spheres was approved. If the same policy was
pursued towards the unrighteous, surely it would en-
danger the conqueror’s position. For the wicked king
would be led to think of the conqueror's weakness and
indulge in more mischief. Towards him is therefore
recommended asatya sama which was seemingly a recon-
ciliation but in reality insincere. For in the case of an
unrighteous monarch no amount of appeal to family
traditions or appreciation of his actions would move bim
even an inch from his policy.^®
The implications of this diplomatic means of sama
are found buried in the texts of the Dharmasdstra and
ArthasdfStra. The conquering king is asked to observe
this policy of conciliation by the promise of protection
of villages and forests, of sheep and cattle, of roads and
traffic, of the restoration of the banished and of the
runaway.’® Kautalya recommends the application of
this policy towards the conquered king so that the latter
may remain loyal.” The sama was again a method to
75 See also K&ma. ch. 1^, 19 f.
76 Bk. Vn, ch. 16.
77 Hid.
326
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
bring weaker kings under one’s control. If the weak
king could not be brought down by a policy of concilia-
tion alone, the other means of d^a or gift might be
employed. With the passage of time, five kinds ot s^a
were distinguished, as is seen in the Sivatattva-
ratndkara?^ Surely in diplomacy it was not a question
of stagnation but of progress of ideas.
Dana: The next policy of diplomatic utility was
d^a or gift. As we have already seen, Kautalya
recommends the policy of conciliation and of gifts to
inferior kings. The policy of gifts was put into opera-
tion if the straight method of conciliation did not
produce the intended effect. It is said in the Matsya
Parana that even the gods are brought round through
gifts of wealth and other presents.’® Gifts were often
the temptation — ^this is true largely to-day also — to win
over the recalcitrant and the rebellious.
This policy also met another situation. It may be
that sometimes the local chiefs or leaders joined hands
with foreigners and rose against the king. In such cases
Kautelya recommends the policy of sama and dana
towards the discontented subjects, so that they might
give up their unholy alliance with the aliens; After
ensuring peace at home, the conqueror is asked to
apply the policy of bheda and dajnda towards the
foreigner. In this recommendation and the equally
statesmanlike principle that the internal danger must be
suppressed first before the external danger should be
met, Kautalya shows himself a keen politician, and
anticipates many of our modem statesmen. This
78 5, 12, SOS.
79 Cp. Kdma. ch. 18, 21 f.
DIPLOMACY AND WAR
827
recommendation of a practical statesman is supported
by the views of law-givers like Manu.*® But Manu does
not attach much value either to the policy of gifts or
the other diplomatic means like bheda. For does he not
say that Pandits or those who are versed in such
technical literature, hold the opinion that from the point
of view of progress of the kingdom only sama and danda
are the best Thus the policy of gifts, though effective
in several cases, is assigned a secondary place in the
Mdnavadharmasdstra. The jSivatattvaratndkam men-
tions as many as sixteen kinds of dana or gift,*^ thus
improving on the few kinds of gifts mentioned by the
Arthasdstra. Under the category come political mar-
riage alliances. To cite an instance, Yaugandharayana,
the minister of Udayana, arranged a matrimonial
alliance between his king and the sister of the Magadha
king Darsaka, which prevented Darsaka’s support to the
Vatsa country and strengthened ITdavana’s hands.*®
Instances of*sueh marriages can be multiplied.** To
mention only a few, we have the marriage alliance of
Vakatakas and Guptas, of the Cholas and Cheras. the
Cho]as and Ohalukyas. of the Licchavis and the Guntas.
In his discussion on gifts, Kautalya uses the term abhava
which is explained in the ^rlmfilam commentary as
^ meaning the gift awarded in the shape
of wealth to avert, the fear caused by the enemy. Other-
80 VII. 107. 81 lUd. 109.
82 S.T.R., 5.12.59 ff.
83 Note RajarSja’s and RSjendra’s marriage alliances with
the Eastern Chalukya princes, so as to secure their alliance and turn
the flank against their hereditary enemies, the Western Chfilukyas of
Kalyfini. See also BhSsa — a study by A. D. Pusalkar, pp. 278-86.
84 See Kama, ch. 18, 24-41.
328
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
wise the term is inexplicable. Shama Sastri’s inter-
pretation as ‘ absence of fear ’ does not convey any
sense if looked at from the point of view of dana.
Kautalya evidently wanted to practise economy both of
arms and means.
Bheda: Let us now turn to the third expedient,
viz., bheda.*® To quote again the Matsya Purdna, this
policy of bheda or dissension should be pursued towards
the unrighteous. It is the policy of ‘ divide and rule
A kingdom is apt to be troubled by internal dissensions
as well as by external aggression. To launch a policy of
either aggression or defence, internal peace is essential.
Towards this end, the Purana recommends the use of
the policy of bheda. To conquer an enemy is to create
division among his kinsmen or among his subjects and
to attack him when they are disunited. Or again, if it
were a confederation of the enemy and his allies, the
invader must insert the thin end of the wedge among
the different members of the confederatibn, and strike
him at the psychological moment, if he should hear of a
division in their organised effort, Manu does not attach
much value to this policy. According to Kautalya,
however, it is an effective weapon to bring even a strong
king to his knees. Kautalya definitely rules that by the
policy of bheda or danda which means the threat of war,
a great power may be subdued. According to the
Arthasdstra, there were different ways of sowing seeds
of dissension. These are by instigating any one of the
neighbouring kings, a wild chief, a scion of the enemy’s
family, or an important prince.*® The jSivataftva-
«
85 Matsya P., ch. 223,
86 Bk, VII, ch, 16. See trans.
DIPLOMACY AND WAR
329
ratndkara irefers to six kinds of bheda, and shows, as in
others, a distinct advance over the Kautalyan tradition.
These are Pranahani (involving life and death),
Mjanabhanga (where honour is at stake), Dhanahani
(appealing to a rich enemy’s avariciousness), Bandhaka
(creating fear of imprisonment in the enemy’s ally),
Darabhilasa (the enemy coveting his ally’s wife), and
Arigabhanga (the enemy’s coveteousness of his ally’s
kingdom).®’
Danda-. We now pass on to Danda, the last mode
of policy according to the epic tradition. Danda is not
actual punishment or opening of hostilities. It is a
diplomatic war, not an armed contest. It is a threat
of war, generally applied as a last resort before the
actual commencement of fighting. Recourse was had
to this policy if the three, sama, diina and bheda, had
been applied separately or conjointly, and had been
found ineffective to achieve the purpose. According
to Kautalya tiiis policy of danda should be followed
in the case of stronger powers. Sometimes a threat
of war might lead to open battle.®® This is the use
of diplomacy in war. Different modes of danda are
mentioned.®® One was to capture the enemy in open
fight. The second was to subdue him by resorting to
treacherous warfare. The third was to strike him by
planning a secret conspiracy. The last was to besiege
his fortress to create panic and to capture him during
the tumult and confusion caused by the fall of the
fortress. If the conquered king behaves better, he should
be reinstated.
87 S.T.R., 5.12.60 ff.
88 See Kama. ch. 18, 41 f.
D— 42
89 Ar. Sas, Bk. VH. 16.
330
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
’ Upeksa: It has been well realised that the appli-
cation of danda cannot be resorted to by all monarchs.
How could* an inferior power meet a stronger power in
open warfare? Even the use of treachery or duplicity
on his part would not give him success. In that case
what should be the policy to be adopted by the weaker
State? The Matsya Purdna envisages a similar situa-
tion and recommends the diplomatic policy of upeksa.
In the midst of superior powers a lesser power should
pursue upeksa or indifference. Already in the Kautaliya,
this upek^ is mentioned, not as a separate policy but
as an aspect of the TJdasina attitude. In other words,
Kautalya asks a neutral power to cultivate the virtue of
indifference towards his neighbours, whether they be
his allies or foes. The ethics of international law, as the
ancient Hindus conceived it, respected this neutral
power, and no belligerent was prepared to take notice of
this ruler of indifferent attitude.®" From the Kautalyan
sense of upek.^, it is a distinct advance in the science
of diplomacy to regard upeksa as one of the expedients,
which was the privilege of the weaker power to adopt.
Either this power should ever remain in that neutral
or indifferent attitude, or it should pursue that until
the time when it would feel strong enough to meet
the adversary in the open field. There seems to be the
further implication that even in case the more powerful
State should give trouble unprovoked, it was for
the small power to endure it for the time being, and
not to retaliate. In such cases patience has its own
reward.®* In another section EZamandaka speaks of a
threefold upeksa and cites the classical examples of the
90 Ar. VII. 18. 91 See JSr«mo. ch. 11. 21 f.
DIPLOMACY AMD WAB
331
Virata king leaving alone the wicked Kicaka, and
Bhimasena leaving uninjured Hidimba’s brother.®^
Maya: To the above-mentioned dipldmatic atti-
tudes, which are accepted by the orthodox Arthasastra
literature, are added maya and indrajala. These two
partake, as we shall see, of the character of base
diplomacy. For the conquering king would discard the
straight path, and try his best to hoodwink the enemy
by a recourse to the expedient maya. Maya means
illusion and therefore in that sense the invader would
put to use all illusory powers to deceive the enemy, and
strike him at his weak point. This expedient must be
considered as a baser kind of diplomacy. There are
different uses of this policy. But there is no reason to
doubt that the application of the policy of maya con-
sisted of cunning and intrigue. Surely, this was one of
the methods of danda as prescribed by Kautalya.
Except for the opinion that treacherous warfare could
be indulged m,‘ there is no more detail given by him. In
invoking the aid of this expedient, it can be noticed that
no actual war is implied here, and the success over an
adversary was to be achieved by a network of intrigue
and counter-intrigue. Some interesting details can, how-
ever, be gathered from the Kaniandaklija NUisdra. The
conqueror is asked to get himself dressed as a god, or a
pillar, and when the enemy comes to worship, to slay
him. Other cases of disguise are mentioned. The use
of parachutes in the present war perhaps approximates
to this principle. The king might visit the enemy in the
disguise of a woman,®® of a devil, or an evil spirit, and
•
92 Ihid. ch. 18, 57-9.
93 Devicandraguptam. See Dr. V. Raghavan, JourwA of the
Benares Hindu University , Vol. II. No. 1. p. 24.
832
WAE IN ANCIENT INDIA
slay him when at close quarters. The maya was twofold,
m^usi and am^u^i or daiva. The Muhdhharata cites
the instance of Kicaka’s death by Bhimasena in Drau-
padi’s disguise.®*
This method and the next, namely Indrajala, must
go to demonstrate a noticeable deterioration in the
concept of international morality. If it ever existed in
actual politics, it must have come into being after the
Mauryan epoch, for it is not among the accepted
principles of the Kautalyan diplomacy.
Indrajala: The last of the expedients which had
the acceptance of the later Niti writers, in whose
works we find traces of deviation of religious principles
from things purely secular, was indrajala. A close
and careful examination of the uses for which this
policy was followed indicates that it partook of the
nature and character of maya. This is, in other words,
the use of stratagem to win over the enemy. It
may also be the use of stratagem in war. It seems
to us that these two expedients were the outcome of
the growing popularity of the Atharva Veda Samhitd
and its tenets.®® Here we have a number of spells
and charms, surely of baser kinds, to achieve one’s
end. These were by slow degrees increasingly used
in wars and in the subjugation of the recalcitrant and
the rebellious. Even the Buddhist canonical books,
which are supposed to breathe an air of higher ethical
atmosphere, countenance these intriguing and supersti-
tious methods. For example, we read several of these
things in the section Brahmajalasutta of the DlgJia-
, •
94 Ch. 18, 53-6.
95 For instance, see Bk. X, 5.
DIPLOMACnf AND WAR
m
NiMya.^ It reads something like a summary of the
important Atharva rites and recommendations.®^ The
following details of this device of indrajala are mentioned
in the Kamandakiya.®* ‘Alluring the troops of the enemy
out of their camps, villages and castles into pastures, a
cool-headed king should slay them. Concealing the
inefficient portion of the army and with the rest of it
supported by the allies, a king should crush the foe,
falling upon him even like a lion.’ ®®
These last three methods, upeksa, maya, indrajala,
were perhaps recognised, to use modern phraseology, as
safeguards for minorities against the unscrupulous
aggression of superior powers. According to Kaman-
daka, these three expedients are only aspects of the four
main upayas: sama, dana, bheda and danda. He says
maya is an aspect of danda. So also upeksa and
indrajala are included as aspects of bheda.^®® As these
different kinds of expedients have different objectives in
view, each must be applied according to circumstances.
If some cases require a combination of one or two
methods, that must be also resorted to. In the course of
the application of d^a, sama may also be used. In the
course of sama and bheda, dana may be used. The
section of the Kamandakiya dealing with this subject is
concluded thus :
96 Vol. I, pp. 146; See also B. C. Law: A History of Pali
Literature, pp. 81 f; Cp. Wintemitz: A History of Indian Literature,
Vol. II, p. 36.
97 Cp. A.y. Bk. X, 5.
98 K&ma. Ch. 18. 60-61!
99 Dutt’s trans.
100 See the Commentary of Sankarirya on st, 61.
334
WAB IN ANCIENT INDIA
‘ That diplomat who uses these different modes of
policy, with due regard to place, time and resources,
against the enemy and his own force, will attain success,
and he who does not make use of them in his domestic
and foreign policy will be but like a blind man.’ By
employing these seven expedients based on the sixfold
policy, a conquering king, it is said, earns the much
coveted title of Sarvabhauma.^®^
SECTION IV
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
I We now proceed to refer to some of the diplomatic
relations which existed between India and the outer,
world. The picture presented in the epics and the
Arthasastra literature seems to be confined to the four
comers of this Bharatakhanda. It is difficult to say
whether India had any international relations with the
outside world. The intercourse as envisaged in the
literature, shows relatio:^ to be more commercial than
Ipolitical in character. (^But political relations with
Iforeign countries became a matter of importance irom
^the epoch of Chandragupta Maurya, if not earlierJ
Strabo quotes Megasthenes and says that the Inmans
were not engaged in wars with foreigners outside India
nor was their country invaded by any foreign power
except by Hercules and Dionysius and lately by the
MacedoniansJ^There is documentary evidence to indicate
Ithe naval expedition led by Darius about 517 B.C. and
jthe Persian conquest of the North-west. But there were
101 Ibid. 65.
102 8.T.R., 5.12.123.
DIPLOMAOT AND WAR
885
friendly relations of Chandragupta with Seleukos
Nikator, of Bindusara with Antiochus, of Asoka and
Samudragupta with Ceylon, of Pulakesi with Persians,
of Harsa with Nepal and China, of the Cholas with Sri
Vijaya. And when the conception of the State grew
into an Imperial one, and when the Indian Empire
became a separate entity, the problem of the North-West
Frontier, through which entered all the great invading
hosts of India, engaged the emperor’s attention. The
frontier, says Lord Ronaldshay, ‘ possesses the possi-
bilities of complications which cannot arise in a simple
frontier consisting of a single boundary line more or less
demarcated between one state and another, for it offers
the option of two alternative policies. It is either
absorption by the paramount power or non-interference.’
In this the Hindu kings succeeded more by diplomacy
than by conquest. We also know from authentic history
how Chandragupta Maurya was able to create a scientific
frontier which is still a problem for the British
Government in India for wellnigh over a century.
A writer in the Cambridge History of India
remarks: ‘ It is in foreign policy that we find the culmi-
nation of the Indian genius for systematic exposition,
the principles being those of MachiaveUi. Policy has not
large aims: the maijogpimg pf the kings
and tlm much applauded .desire -for glory and Imperial
rale ^ TPfiese statements are rather misleading. In the
first place, it was not Machiavellian as has been already
*^ointed out. Secondly, the idea that the policy was
imbued not with larger aims but only with rivalry and
glory, cannot He accepted. The ideal was not mundane.
It was something higher and nobler and consequently
spiritual. Bapson says: “ If was always regarded as a
886
VAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
legitimate object of the ambition of every king to aim
at the position of Cakravartin or of supreme monarch.”
This ambition was legitimate and had no narrow outlook
about it. It was not the exclusive privilege of this or
that sovereign, but a fruit to be sought after by every
one of the monarchs comprising the mandala. If the
king is not actuated by this idea, he falls short of an
ideal king according to the Hindu Rajadharma.
Samudragupta, for instance, was full of this ideal. His
conquests were not waged for the sake of mere territorial
ambition, but to attain the larger end, namely, the
realisation of Indrahood. As has been already said,
Heaven is the ultimate goal and its attainment neces-
sitates the conquest of this earth by the Ksatriya. In.
;a word, conquest is a means to a greater end, namely,
(happiness and glory in Heaven.
CHAPTER IX
DIPLOMATIC AGENTS
SECTION I
THE PLACE AND FUNCTION OP AMBASSADORS
The institution of ambassadors is not a peculiar
feature of modem times. In the ancient diplomatic
code of the Hindus it occupied an honoured place.
Ambassadors in general occupied a very high and
enviable position as befitting their status and function.
From the earliest literary records which include
the huge mass of Vedic literature, the duta figures
prominently. In the concept of the Vedic pantheon,
Agni is the accredited messenger of the gods. He is
the Devaduta, as happily rendered by Ilanko Adigal in
his immortal work, the 3ilappadiKdram. Commencing
with the Rg Veda Samhitd, it is noticed that the two
diplomatic agents duta and cara were in existence.^
In the Taittirlya Samhitd^ there is the term prahita as
distinct from duta and meaning an envoy. On the
authority of the celebrated commentator Sayana, the duta
is one skilled in getting correct information as to the
strength and position of the enemy’s forces.® Prahita
is explained as an envoy sent by his master.^ In that
sense again the Atharva Veda Samhitd uses these terms.
1 1.12.1.
2 IV. 6.7.
4 wRWr I
D— 48
I
888 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Thus it is seen that the institution of ambassadors
is a very ancient one. The Manavadharmasdstra!^ men-
tions the qualifications of this important official. He
should belong to a noble family, be intelligent, honest,
industrious and versed in all sciences, and possess the
faculty of reading others’ thoughts and feelings from
their appearance and behaviour. He must also have an
attractive personality and be dexterous, loyal, courageous
and capable of discerning things in their true spirit
according to time and place; and above all, he must
possess a good voice and fine delivery. According to
Kautalya,® ambassadors may be divided into three classes,
nisratartha, parimitartha and ^sanahara. The first
class, who had many miscellaneous functions to perfomv
must be fully qualified, that is, they must have all the
\ qualifications of ministers. According to Kautalya, the
I minister should be of a good family, fully versed in all
! sciences, capable of self-sacrifice, highly devoted to his*
' state and sovereign, pure-hearted and wise. The second
class of envoys are those who are entrusted with a single
definite mission, and hence men possessing less of the
above qualifications would suffice. The sTisanaharas or
the third class of envoys were mere carriers of the
royal writs, and for this much less qualified men would
generally be chosen.
It is interesting to find a parallel to this in the
Bdma/yana,^ where also three kinds of envoys are men-
5 Vn. 63-64.
6 Ar. iSds., I, 16.
T TudMa, 1, 8-10.
DIPLOMATIC AOBm'S
d3d
tioned. He who performs even an undesirable and
insurmountable task, out of devotion and love, is a
puru§ottama, the best among men. Entrusted with
a certain mission, he who does not act so as to
enlist the love and affection of the king but does
it in his own way, is a madhyamanara, the middling
person; and that man who, though ordained, does not
carry it out in the proper manner, is a purusadhama, the
lowest among men.
Agnipurana,^ uses the very words of Kautalya in
describing the three classes of envoys. These are said
to be some general rules communicated to Laksmana
by Rama. According to the latter, diplomacy is better
ihan the expedient of war. This could be effected by
special envoys sent for the purpose, while in the enemy’s
kingdom the ambassador must speak higlily of his king
as well as of his enemy and thus ascertain the true force
of public opinion in the land. An ambassador is thus
but an open spy. He can assume the role of a merchant,
a physifeian, or some other person to get at the truth. A
king must take up arms if his embassy should prove
unsuccessful, as Yudhisthira did after Krsna’s embassy.
The Kamandakiniti has a special section on the
qualifications and duties of ambassadors. Here also the
threefold classification of envoys is retained as in the
Kautallya and in the Agnipurdna. The ambassador
must survey the strength of the Antapalas and the
^ grjf: ii
^ gw: ii
8 241, Mi
S40
WAR IK AKCISNT INDIA
At^vika princes who lie on the way to the enemy’s
kingdom. He should get a true idea of the extent of
the enemy’s army, treasury, forts, and weak spots, him-
self playing the part of a cara or employing caras fon
the purpose. He must sleep alone and in a lonely place.
According to the Sukramtisdra^ an ambassador is one
of the ten principal ministers. Only one who is capable
of reading the signs, demeanour, and behaviour of
the adversary, skilled in all arts and sciences, eloquent
and devoid of fear on any account, should be appointed
to discharge this duty. As the king’s representative
he had to discharge his duties loyally though they be
undesirable and unfruitful.
Bhisma mentions seven qualifications as essential iq.
an ambassador.^ He should come of a noble line, belong
to a high family, be skilful, eloquent of speech, true in
delivering the mission, and of excellent memory. A king
must never sentence or subject an ambassador to capital
punishment. If he does so, he sinks into oblivion and he
is subject to the tortures of the hell together with his
retinue of responsible ofi&cers. It is further said that
any officer who kiUs an ambassador that delivers his
message according to the very letter and spirit of his
instructions, brings down untold sin not only on himself
but even on his deceased ancestors. Such was the moral
force at the back of this very important institution.
The question now arises : what action did the State
take in such cases? South Indian epigraphy records the
incident of the ambassador of the great Ohoja monarch,
Bajaraja (acc. A.D. 985) who was insulted by a con-
9 II. 72, «7-88.
to ^dnti, 85, 26-28. Rama. II. 100.35: v. 41. 5-6.
DIPLOMATIC AOSNTS
341
federaoy of eighteen princes, in retaliation for which
Rajaraja invaded Malam^u and killed those eighteen
princes.^^
The duties of an ambassador, then, were many and
varied. The lawgiver, Manu,“ lays down these explicit
functions. First, on him rests the ultimate declaration
of war or peace.“ Secondly, he is to make or break
alliances. Again, he is to sever the friendship of those
who are not favourably disposed to his country and
secure alliance with those who are, for all practical
purposes, friendly if the conditions and circumstances
so demand. He is further to ascertain the nature and
scope of the enemy’s strength, his allies, followera, and
,his enemies. Lastly, lie must so play his part in foreign
lands as not to imperil his personal security. The very
same duties are laid down by Kautalya^* also, which go
to show that he is a faithful follower of the Bharma-
sastras. According to Kautalya the envoy should
endeavour to secure the friendship of the enemy’s
officers,* study his military strength, forts, arsenals, army,
and all his weak as well as favourable points. He must
make an accurate survey of the whole ground leading to
the enemy’s kingdom, then and there, marking the best
vantage grounds for encampment, for operations, for
retreat, an(i for the stoTage of provisions. Only with
previous permission should an ambassador enter the
capital city of his enemy. He must deliver the message
11 Jnd. Ant. VoL XXII, p. 142.
12 VII, 65, 68.
13 Cp. the action of the* Roman ambassador at Tarentum on the
eve of the Pyrrhic War.
14 Ar. Sas., I. 16.
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
su
exactly as entrusted to him even at the risk of his life,
carefully observing at the same time how and in what
spirit the enemy receives it.
There are other salutary regulations touching the
^eatment that should be meted out to an envoy. He must
oe respectfully welcomed, and accorded a seat of honour
near the throne. Enquiries as to the health of the
enemy king, the ambassador’s master, as well as of his
friends should next be made. The ambassador’s message
should be patiently heard and he must be sent back with
a suitable reply. Above all, the mission must be closed
with satisfaction. The envoy should not stay longer
than necessary in the enemy’s country and while there, he
must not touch women or liquor and must sleep alone and
in a lonely apartment if possible. He must further put
up with any indignity offered. This is not all. . While
staying in the enemy’s court, he must mix freely with all
classes of people in the realm and thus try to understand
the degree of loyalty of the subjects. If it* is not possible
to gather reliable information by open means, then an
ambassador may put on various disguises like those of
an ascetic, a merchant, a disciple, a physician, a beggar
or an insane person and thus try to get correct informa-
tion regarding the people, the army and the kingdom.
These are really speaking the functions of a spy.
As we have already remarked, the envoy was not
permitted to’ stay a long time. Having obtained whatever
information he could gather, he must ask for permission
to return.^® If detained against his will, he should try to
And out the various possible rnotives that might have
induced the adversary to take that course, whether for
1^. Ar. Sas. 1. 16.
fimiCaiATIC AOliNTS
S4S
collecting an army or inciting a rebellion or making an
alliance with others. But he might demand, as of right,
a speedy departure for himself ; and if th^ circumstances
dre such that any further stay might imperil his personal
safety, then he might even leave the kingdom without
permission. Another important regulation relating to
ambasadors already referred to was that they should not
,be put to death on any account to whatever caste they
[belonged. Prom this it is evident that members of all
(communities were eligible to this office, and that it was
Wt the exclusive monopoly of a particular caste.
To conclude, delivering the message entrusted to
/him, respecting treaties, issuing ultimatums, getting
rallies, resorting to intrigue when necessary, sowing
'^dissensions among the enemy’s friends and associates,
carrying away by stealth or otherwise the secret forces,
relatives and wealth of the enemy, and doing the work
of a spy occasionally — these in brief, were the functions
of a well- versed and devoutly loyal ambassador.
It would not be out of place here to give a few
illustrations from our literature. In the Fnivnvavn'^^
Hanuman is sent by Su.grTva at the request of Bamn in
search of Sita. In the course of his fruitless wanderings
he gets a hint from Sampati, the king of vultures, of the
whereabouts of Sita. Thereupon Hanuman crosses the
ocean to Lanka and on the way defeats a few of the
formidable Baksasas apparently appointed by Havana
to guard the outskirts of his capital. Defeating them
all and securing permission from every one of them,
Hanuman reaches the fortress of Lanka. Here again
18 See the last chapters of Kiskindha and the opening chapters
of the Stmdara Kinda.
144
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
he has an encounter with the guardian deity of the city.
The latter is defeated by his prowess and she willingly
grants him permission to enter the citadel. Thus we
may take it that Hanuman entered the capital of Havana
witt the permission of those who had the power to
grant it. i
There he acted exceedingly well the part of a cara
or spy and got all the information required. His mis-
sion was, first and foremost, to find out the place where
Sita was confined, and for this purpose he assumed
various disguises. When he became weary of the search
he thought of assuming the guise of a beggar, an insane
person or an ascetic. Soon afterwards he beheld Sita
sitting under an asoka tree distressed and vexed, her
eyes full of tears. Then he appeared before her as
a Brahman disciple and introduced himself as a messen-
ger from RSma,” assured her of his safety, and
enquired after hers. She did not at first believe him.
Soon he convinced her of his identity, delivered his
message, received her message to Rama, and took leave
of her. In this case it was not a message to an enemy
but to a friend or rather a loving partner.
But his message to Ravana is of historical value.
Hanuman was no ordinary being. He was the chief
councillor of King Sugriva, and versed in all arts and
sciences. Truly 'did Janaki remark^® that he was
endowed with prowess, intelligence and skill of the
highest order. He had all the qualifications of an
ambassador and even more. After seeing Sit5, he con-
templated visiting Ravana also^ the king of Lanka, in
17 Sundara. 34.2,
18 TWtf., 34.7.
DIPLOMATIC AOEINTS
345
pOTson as the envoy of his brother sovereign Sugriva of
Kiskindha, with a view to secure the release of Sita
through open negotiation. But it appeared to him well-
nigh impossible to get access to him by any fair or
friendly means. So he began to destroy the favourite
flower and fruit gardens of Ravana with the result that
the brave Raksasas who came to attack him were
all slain. After this, royal princes were sent against
him, and it was Indrajit who ultimately succeeded in
vanquishing him and carrying him as a captive before
his father, the king of the Raksasas. But Hanuman
was not in the least daunted. He delivered the message
boldly and fearlessly even at the risk of his life. He
represented himself ns the envoy of Sugriva. But
Ravana turned red with anger and ordered his
execution, whereat Vibhisana rose and explained the
Rajadharma regarding the treatment to be accorded to
envoys in gene’ral. First of all. an envoy should not be
punished w’ith death at all.^® That is against all
international morality. Such a course would be censured
by the world at large. But when questioned about
the forms of punishment to be inflicted on guilty or
obnoxious envoys, Vibhisana mentioned mutilation of
certain limbs, beating and other forms of chastisement.
Thereupon Ravana ordered Hanuman ’s tail to be burnt.
But Hanuman with undaunted courage set the whole city
on fire with his lighted tail. Once again taking leave of
Janakl, but without the permission of the Lord of Lanka,
lest it should imperil his life, he returned to the other
side of the sea and rejoined his brother-monkeys and
19 Ibid., 52, 6-7, 13. VI. 20.16-18.
D— 44
WAR m AJ^GIENT INDIA.
fiU^ their ears with the glad tidings. During his stay
in Lanka, Hanuman took full stock of the situation,
surveyed the citadel in all its aspects, and was convinced
that the four expedients of sama, dana, bheda, and
dai^^ would be of no avail against the great and
mighty Ravanesvara. lie acquainted himself with the
strength of his army, of his friends and enemies, of the
forts and fortresses, and other vantage grounds for
camps and battlefields, if such should be necessary in
the future. Burning the city, taking cognisance of the
future events and leaving the place without any formal
permission, all these go to show that he had even issued
an ultimatum for war.
The practice of sending ambassadors to declare war
is seen in the Visnupurdn^ where Vasudeva, the king
of Pundra, claimed a divine status for himself and sent
an ambassador to Krsna, the king of Dvaraka. The
message delivered was : ‘ Leave off your cakra, Oh foolish
person, and come and accord me your homage and I shall
forgive you and grant you means of subsistence.’ The
Lord laughed and sent a fitting reply: ‘ I shall even
to-morrow go with my cakra and yield it to you ’.
Mounting Garuda, Krsna set out against Pundraka,
and the king of Pundra helped by the ruler of Kasi
came to meet him.
Again, in the Mdrkandeya Purdna,^ when Alarka,
the fourth son of Madalasa, was reigning, his elder
brother Suhahiu wished to usurp the throne. So he
sought Kasiraja’s help and sent an ultimatum through
an envoy. It was ‘ Submit or fight.’ As befitted a
c
20 V. 34.
21 Ch. 37.
DIPLOHUTIC AOSNTS
S47
K§atriya, Alarka offered battle and being defeated fled
for life. That this was also a Tamil custom is seen from
the fact that just on the eve of his expedition to the
Ganges, Ceran Senguttuvan asked his minister to send
envoys to the northern kings to the effect that unless they
were prepared to recognise his suzerainty, he would
meet them in open battle.^
Another instance of this role of a messenger is
found in the Marka^eya where Kumbha and
Nisumbha, the two great Asuras, completely defeated
the gods. Though a legend, it gives us an idea prevalent
in ancient times. There was only the goddess Durga left
unconquered. So Sumbha sent a messenger, Sugriva by
name, to the goddess with the message: “ I want you
here quickly. So do come without delay.” The envoy
reached her abode among the mountains and delivered
the message as instructed. The Devi calmly received it
and sent the .reply that he who could conquer her in
battle y^ould be her husband, and hence Sumbha was
welcome to fight with her. Enraged at the message,
l§umbha sent able generals to drag her by the hair
to his abode. They were all completely destroyed when
Durga sent the celestial messenger Siva with the ulti-
matum for war. Thereupon Sumbha marched with his
legions armed with 86 different weapons and eighty-four
different clubs, all of whom she destroyed utterly.
Yet another instance is that after arriving on the
shores of Lanka, Rama sent Angada as an envoy to
22 ^Uap. eh. 26.
28 Ch.86, 87.
24 Apni P., Ch, 30.
. WAR IN ANCIENT INEIA
m
Havana with the inessage: “ Give up Sita or fight
JKavaria replied that he would fight. Then Rama with
all his monkey forces marched towards the citadel.
To cite another instance Drupada sent his Purohita,
a well-versed Brahman, as an ambassador to the
court of Dhrtarastra on the eve of the struggle to
avert war on behalf of the Pan^avas.^ Having arrived
at Hastinapura, he was accorded a hearty welcome by
Dhrtarastra, Bhi§ma and Vidura. Enquiries about the
health of the king and the chief officers of the state were
then made. Then he delivered his message, which was
patiently heard. Bhisma replied that Duryodhana was
not willing to yield even one inch of territory but was
prepared to lose the whole empire in battle if it should
so chance. Then he went back. After this Sanjaya
was commissioned by Dhrtarastra to go to the Pandavas,
enquire after their health, and say whatever he thought
fit on the occasion. Sanjaya spoke of the horrors
and sins of war and desired Yudhisthira to make
peace. As an ambassador he gave out his message as
was instructed. Krsna answered that peace was good,
but war was the duty of the Ksatriyas. ‘ For the
puipose of slaying robbers, Indra had created the bow,
the weapon, and also the armour. Dhrtarastra with his
sons had robbed the sons of P^du of their just and
lawful inheritance, and hence as robbers they must' be
dealt with. So let the Kurus be told that the Pandavas,
though ready to fight, are still in peace. ’
Having effected a rather speedy settlement and
permitted by Yudhisthira, Sanjaya, the pure-souled and
of humane and virtuous speech, returned with the
25 Udyoga., 6, 20-21.
DIPLOMATIC ACX3NTS
349
message to Duryodhana.^® ‘ Cede Indraprastha or give
battle.’ Then witli Dhi'tar^tra’s permission he entered
the palace and imfolded all that had taken place.
Questioned as to the vulnerable and non-vulnerable
points of the Panda va army, Sanjaya spoke of. their
superiority in possessing Krs^ia on their side/<^ith his
disc and his power of producing illusion.^’ n/
Yet another striking illustration is also found in the
Mahdbharata. Instructed by Yudhisthira, Bhima and
Arjuna and Nakula to act in such a way that there might
be peace with the enemy and to do such other things as
he considered proper and even fruitful to the Kurus,
Kr^ria set out as an ambassador. But Sahadeva and
Satyaki preferred war, for nothing but killing Duryo-
dhana would bring them peace of mind. Draupadi
sounded the same note. Then Krsna started for
Indraprastha and in the meantime Duryodhana pro-
posed to make him captive while there. This course
Dhrtara§tra opposed, saying that he was an ambassador
and therefore it was improper to make him captive.
Ki^a arrived and was duly honoured. He spoke the
words of a friend wishing for peace. The terms of the
message amounted to asking the Kurus to give up half
the kingdom or, if that was not possible, to cede five
villages, or to fight in the last resort. Duryodhana
would not agree in spite of good advice from his elders,
and offered only war. Taking leave of all of them
Kf^a speedily returned to Upaplavya where the
Pandavas heard him and prepared for the battle.
A reference to the early Tamil Sangam works shows
26 rbid., 30. 3-6; 49.
27 Ibid., 32, 67-68.
WUt IN ANCISNT INDU
8&0,
that ambassadors played a significant part also
in the Tamil land. The earliest work extant, the
TolkappiyamJ^^ refers to the dutas, and, what is more
interesting, the sutra implies that Brahmans were
generally sent on this errand. The Rural has a chapter
on the qualifications and functions of an ambassador.^^
He is a true ambassador who has a commanding per-
sonality and pleasing manners, comes of a noble family
and is faithful, wise, versed in legal and political
literature, and persuasive in speech. He should be un-
impeachable in character and rise above all temptations.
He should speak out unmindful even of personal safety.
A study of the Silappadikdram shows that king
Senguttuvan had a big establishment of dutas, the chief
of whom were Sanjaya and Nila.®*
Epigraphic testimony: Inscription. No. 30 of King
Virarajendra Chola bears ample and eloquent testimony
to this practice in vogvie among the South Indian kings in
medieval times. King Virarajendra dispatched a letter
to the Chalukya prince through a messenger with*an ulti-
matum for war. Probably this messenger came in the
third category of Kautalya’s and Agnipura/tui*s classi-
fication of envoys. The letter had this preamble: ‘ He
who does not come to the appointed Kudal through fear,
shall be no king but a liar and a disgrace in war.’ This
was delivered to the messenger who carried it and handed
to the Chalukya king. The Chalukya king resented the
action of the Chola. Though the latter set out for the
28 Pond, 25.
29 Cb. 69.
80 C% . 96.
DIPLOMATIC AOBNTd
861
battle-field, the Chalukya did not turn up even a month
after the appointed time but fled in fear.
V Thus there is both literary and inscriptional
evidence to show what a useful part was played by the
ambassador in ancient Indian diplomacy and warfare.
SBCTION. n
ESPIONAGE IN WAB
Modem international law has classified diplomatic
agents under different heads, and has accepted the
principle of stationing permanent ambassadors in
foreign states. Though ancient India had developed
a theory of international law and ethics, its ambassadors
were not permanent agents in foreign courts. They
were sent on a special mission and were expected to
return after having carried out their mission. In fact,
it was prescribed, as we have seen, that the ambassador
should not be’ allowed to stay long in those courts.
Importiftit as the ambassadorial system was, espionage
was even more valued. I^ooked at from the point of
view of diplomacy, the institution of spies had a greater
utility, as the king could take action on the report
of the spies. At the outset it may be remarked that
spies were engaged to look after the home ofiSeials,
including those of the royal household as well as to
report onNthe doings in the enemy kingdoms. It is with
the latter class of spies who were sent to foreign
countries to gather information about the movements of
***the enemy and his army, that we are at present
concerned.
To recall what we have alreadv said, spies are
mentioned in the Bg "Veda Samhita. It is said that
S5S WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
\
y^nma had a number of spies, as well as Agni.** These
jppies looked out far and wide. They went about in
'different directions. They were true to their duties, and
/were never confused in carrying out their task.** Their
i policy was clearly defined. Only men of wisdom and
purity were sent on this errand,** thus suggesting that
they should be persons above corruption and temptation
of any sort.
Such details may indicate the high development
of the science of diplomacy in ancient India. As
was noticed in the last section, the term prahita stands
for the spy in the Taittirlya Samhitd, if we are to
interpret it in the light of the eommentarj’^ of Sayana.**
But when we come to the epoch of the composition of
the 'Atharva Veda, we have additional details of these
officials in secret service. Here again,*® we meet with
the spies attached to the exalted office of Varuna. They
were said to possess a thousand eyes, implying, of course,
that they were ever vigilant and watchful. It is further
mentioned that they looked down on the earth from the
sky, meaning that no direction was left uninspected by
them. They moved here and there, and this was, we
may suppose, for gathering correct information and
reporting it to their master. All important gods had
/their own spies. For instance, spies were attached to
Mitra.*^
In the epics, again, there is a fund of infor-
31 I. 24.13. 32 IV. 4.3; A.V. VI. 4.8.
33 VI. 67.5; VIII. 87.3. 34* VII. 67.3.
35 IV. 7.1. 36 IV. 16.4.
37 A. V. Vin. 61.3. Soma too had spies. Ibid. IX, 73.4. See
Maedonell, Vedic Mythology, pp, 23-24.
DIPLOMATIC AGENTS
353
mation about these officials. In the Mahdbhdrata^ it is
said that they frequented all places and sent up regular
reports. When the Pandavas were living in the country
of King Virata, Duryodhana sent able spies in search of
them. Du^sana offered advance pay to these secret
emissaries.®® An illustration may also be cited from the
Rdmdyana.*° Ravana sent two of his ministers Suka
and Sarana to report from time to time on the strength
and the movements of Rama’s forces {Parijndtum
baMm sarvani). They entered the Vanara host in the dis-
guise of monkeys. Soon they were found out and Rama
sent an ultimatum through them to their master. Accord-
ing to the great epic, men able to disguise themselves
as idiots, and blind and deaf men, were appointed as
spies. They should have been previously engaged in other
services and their conduct testified to. Able to endure
fatigue and thirst, they should be men of intelligence,
and he was a wise king who employed these spies in
such a way that they might not recognise one another.
The king should also endeavour to get at the knowledge
of foreign spies frequenting his kingdom in its parks,
learned assemblies, courts, places of amusement, etc.*^
Elsew’here it is said^® that having spies for his eyes, the
king should learn all the acts and intentions of his foes,
friends and neutrals.*® *
The king must not take action on the report sub-
38 ^dnti., 69. 8-12; 86.20-21.
39 VirSta., chh. 25 and 26.
“ 40 Tuddha,, ch. 25 (whole).
41 VirSta., 8, 13.
42 Adi., ch. 142, 75-77; Kama., 13.31.
43 LXXXVI. 20.21 ; Udyoga., 33.34.
D— 45
364
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Quitted by a single spy. If the infonnation received
from three different sources, independent of one another,
}s found to tally, then action could be taken. This ruling
^bf the Bama/yana** is followed by the Arthasdstra*'^ and
further supported by the prescription of the Kural.*^
Tt bears testimony to the care and attention paid to the
strategic policy in the ancient Indian State,
j It is only when we come to the period of the
I Kautaliya that we find a regular secret service depart-
|ment as a permanent feature. Mention of a similar
(institution is met with in the works of Bhasa, who is
now said to have lived in the fifth century B.C. Accord-
ing to this dramatist, these spies were the king’s eyes,^^
who watched the movements of enemies and those of the
king’s subjects and aliens. They themselves moved
about in the guise of madmen, mendicants, etc. Vatsa-
raja was freed from captivity through the secret
service.^®
In the Arthasdstm there are four important chap-
ters on this institution.^** Spies in the guise of a
fraudulent disciple, a recluse^ a householder, a merchant,
an ascetic, a satri, a firebrand, a poisoner, and a mendi-
cant woman were employed by the king. Being
encouraged with honour and presents of money, they
were asked to swear their loyalty to the king and his
council; for it was the minister that set them on their
mission. Intelligent cultivators fallen from their condi-
44 Ayodhy&, 100, 36.
45 Bk. I, ch. 11.
46 Ch. 59.
47 A.r., 1.12.
48 See the Journal of the Bombay University, 11, pt. vi, p. 196.
49 Bk. I, ch. 11; See also translation.
DIPLOMATIC AGENTS
355
tion were employed as house-holder spies, and traders
fallen from their professions as merchant spies. The
satris were orphans maintained by the State, while the
firebrands were those who confronted wild animals in
fight to earn their livelihood. Brahman widows were
generally the parivrdjaka spies, though women of other
castes were enlisted in this service. Thus Kautalya
distinguishes five institutes of espionage"* (samsthas),
the members of which were sent over the country by the
king to ascertain the purity of his own officials and also
of the enemy.
These different spies were attached to one of the
five institutes, and they sent information by making use
of signs or writing (samjna lipi) to the officers stationed
in their respective institutes. Intelligence was also
conveyed through cipher writing (gudhalekhya).®^ Some
spies were sent to foreign kingdoms to secure
employment, and these were paid from the Home
Department &o that they would secretly furnish first-
hand information regarding the enemy. These officials
50 It is interesting here to compare similar institutions in
ancient China. L. Giles has translated the Sun Tzu or the Art
of War from the Chinese, and this is very valuable to students of
Chinese history. Here also five classes of spies are distinguished.
These are local spies, inward spies, converted spies, doomed spies
and surviving spies. Local spies are those recruited from the local
District. The officials of the enemy were used as inward spies. The
enemy’s spies who were won over to the conqueror’s side were con-
verted spies. Doomed spies were those who gave false report to
the enemy about his own state in order to deceive the latter.
Surviving spies were those who got news from the enemy’s camp.
The functions and qualifications mentioned are quite in agreement
with the Kautalfya (pp. 164 ff), (London, 1910).
51 Ar. Sas., Bk. I. 16.
356 WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
therefore went by the name of uhhayavetanas. One
other business of these spies was also to discover the
spies set by foreign kings. Spies under the guise
of astrologers and readers of omens and auguries were
set in motion to ascertain the relationship of the
local people with foreign kings. By this means the
king was asked to protect himself against the intrigues
of foreign chiefs.
The Rural devotes two interesting chapters to the
institution of spies.“ These are entitled Terindu telital
Q/siflis^ Q^fflfl^^and Terindu vinaiyadal
The injxmctions follow in the main those formulated
by the Arthasdstra, thus showing its indebtedness to the
Kautallya. The venba 501 follows verhatim the Artha-
sdstra when it says:
I ||
The Rural venba runs as follows : ‘ Having put one to
the fourfold test, dharma, wealth, pleasure and fear, a
selection must be made The same idea is contained
in another Rural venha 510. This means that before
the actual appointments were made, each of&cer was put
to four kinds of rigid tests, i.e., temptations of virtue,
wealth, lust and fear. Those who had come out success-
ful from the dharmopadha were appointed as judges
and commissioners, from the arthopadha as treasurers
and collectors-general, from the kamopadha as guardians
of frontiers, of the harem and amusement parks, from
the bhayopadha as officers of the royal household. Those
who had satisfied all the four tests were chosen as
ministers. If one reads these recommendations with the '
Rural venbas 518 and 520, onfe is astonished at their
62 LlandLII.
DIPLOMATIC AGENTS
367
striking similarity.^ According* to the Kural, again, the
two eyes of the king are the spies and a knowledge of the
Dliarmasastras.^ These confirm our conclusion that
Tiruvalluvar was a follower of the Kautaliya school and
based his political theories on the Arthasastra texts,
especially the Arthasdstra of Kautalya.
In a later book Kautalya furnishes more details
regarding their functions.
1. Spies attending upon the prince kept as a
hostage might break the agreement of peace.®®
2. They might bring about the death of a fortified
enemy by means of weapons, poison or other things. This
was generally done by firebrand (tiksna) spies.®® It
was resorted to in the case of obstinate enemies and
enemies of a mean character.®^
3. They helped in sowing seeds of dissension.
Spies in different disguises, particularly as astrologers
and sooth-say ers, gave publicity to their king’s associa-
tion with godk and his miraculous powers. They must
further convert the people of the enemy by speaking
highly of their king’s righteous rule and parental care
towards every one of his subjects. They bribed other-
wise unconvinced persons by supply of money and grain,
aiid created a split between the enemy king and his
subjects.”
53 See Dikshitar; Stvdies in Tamil Literature and History,
pp. 158-160 ; C. S. Srinivasachari ; The Political Ideas of the Rural,
(I.H.Q.,im).
^ 54 Oh. 59.
55 Bk. VII, ch. 17.
56 Of. Rdjataranffini, VIII. 2200: If caught spies were blinded.
57 Bk. IX, vi.
58 Bk. XIII, ch. 1. s,
358
WAE IN ANCIENT INDIA
4. They were again employed to sow dissension
among a corporation of petty kings and warriors. Spies
found out, by access to these, the jealousy, hatred, and
other misunderstanding existing between them, and
planned dissensions saying, ‘ This chief desired you.’
5. Spies again might lure an enemy, in the guise
of ascetics of miraculous powers or by disguising them-
selves as fire-god and Naga gods. Reports were taken
to the enemy king about them, and persuading him to
visit the place he might be slain.*”
6. They carried on other intrigues by deluding the
enemy king within the sight of a beautiful elephant if
he was fond of elephants, with lovely women if he was
fond of women, with a hidden treasure if he was fond of
wealth, and by striking him down on such occasions.®
7. In the course of siege operations, spies disguised
as hunters stood at the gate of a besieged fortress and
pretended to sell meat, thus making friends with the
sentinels stationed at the gate. Winning their confidence
and diveifing their attention, they caused the gates to
be opened, and when that was done, the spies struck the
enemy with the help of men secretly kept ready.®
8. In the case of a powerful enemy, spies in the
service of the enemy from the conqueror’s kingdom nlay
seduce the wild tribes, with prospects of plunder and
power, to devastate the enemy’s coimtry. Or they may
create a division between the king and the com-
manders of the army, and bring about the death pf the
commander-in-chief.®
59 , Bk. XI, ch. 1. 60* Bk. XIII, 2.
61 For details see Ar. ^&s., Bk. XIII, 2.
6? Bk. XIII, 3. 63 Bk. XH, ch. 8.
DIPLOMATIC AGENTS
859
9. The conqueror’s spies residing as traders in the
enemy’s forts and as householder-spies might bring about
the destruction of the enemy’s sources of supply, stores
and granaries.**
10. Lastly, they encouraged their army and
frightened the enemy ranks. This was often done by
soothsayers and astrologers who were, to all intents and
purposes, spies of the conqueror. They described heaven
as their goal and hell as the goal of the enemy.
It is further prescribed that in meeting his spies,
the king should be well armed, as he should meet
them only at night. Dishonest and misbehaving spies
were subject to punishment. But true and honest offi-
cials were protected during the period of their active
service. In this way Kautalya speaks of a number of
spies in different disguises and professions who were
entrusted with onerous responsibilities and obligations
and on whose work rested the weal or woe of the
conqueror’s kingdom. The description shows an elabo-
rate network of the spy system.
In the post-Kautaliyan period the old institution
worked regularly. In the Mudrardhsasa there is
mention of an elaborate system of espionage.*® In
KHidasa’s works we meet with the cara in several places.
The Parivrajaka in the Mdlavikdgnimitra shows the
existence of female spies, as was noticed in the
Kautaliya. In the Puranas®* where polity is dealt with,
and also in law-books like those of Brhaspati,*^ Manu*®
64 Ibid., ch. 4.
65 See, for instance, Act II.
66 Matsya P., ch. 222. The spy chosen must be a linguist
according to this Parana. Padma. Ill, 216-29.
67 I. 46-8. 68 VII. 154: IX. 256, 261 and
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
ft60
and Visnu,®® there are similar details with regard to the
qualifications of these spies.
V The same picture, presents itself in the Tamil
classics. We have already drawn attention to the
chapters in the Tirukkural dealing with this subject.
In the Tolkappiyam (ascribed to about the fourth
century B.C.) it is noticed that spies of different
descriptions went about the enemy’s camp and country
to gather information in regard to the movements of the
king and his army and faithffllly report them to their
headquarters.™ Before the preliminaries of war were
settled, it was the custom to send ambassadors to the
enemy. It was said that when Senguttuvan prepared
himself for his northern expedition, the many spies of
his enemies wandering in his State were sure to take the
information much more quickly and promptly than his
ambassadors.” This shows that as in north Indian
administration, so also in south India the institution of
spies formed an inseparable feature.
Thus both the ambassador and the spy wbre the
diplomatic agents who were responsible for ‘ informa-
tion ’ in war, which denotes, according to Clausewitz,
the knowledge of the enemy and his country. The spy
jwas distinguished from the duta. The spy could ifee
; roughly handled if found out. When Ravana’s spies
I were discovered by the monkey hosts, they were dragged
' before their leader Rama violently and assaulted.™ On a
certain occasion when a duta came, Rama would not
69 ni. 35.
70 PoruZ., 68.
71 AZap., XXV, 11. 173-6.
72 Burns: op. cit., ch. iv.
DIPLOMATIC AGENTS
361
allow him to be molested.’® Thus the ancient Indian diplo-
macy was a curious mixture of idealism and realism,
and was governed by sound principles of intemational
morality. In theory secret diplomacy was denounced;
but it was still put into practice.
CONCLUSION
' /To-day there is a genuine attempt to abolish war
and eliminate force altogether from world politics.
Some believe honestly 4that the remedy lies in the
ushering in of a World State. To achieve this ideal
State is by no means possible, as things stand to-day.
It cannot be disputed for a moment that the human
mind is as yet swinging like a pendulum between
nationalism and internationalism. Though aggressive
nationalism in the sense of dominance of one nation at
the expense of others is condemned in theory, yet it
dominates world politics. It is suicidal to condemn
nationalism asra whole; for nationalism helps to preserve
the integrity of diverse human cultures in the world and
thus enrich human life. Economic internationalism, or
in other words economic interdependence of States,
may lessen the vogue of war but it will not obviate it
eouapletely.
One of our modem thinkers speaking of European
countries, writes that ‘ most traditional history is merely
fairy tale ' where the actual battles are misrepresented,
where the methods of slaughter are called the ‘ art of
war,’ where the successful general or admiral fills a
•great place, and where war is made to seem chiefly an
instmment of progress and where peace is treated as if
73 VI. 25. 27-28.
D-46
862
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
it were only the outcome of victory. The same
writer continues: ‘War is the favourite subject of
historians Most teachers and writers of history
even to-day, perpetrate in schools and universities the
old obsession with war.’ There is some truth in the
observation. But every historian must protest against
the statement that most traditional history is fairy tale.
To wholly discredit the writings of earlier historians is
to ignore altogether one of the chief sources of history.
Besides, it will be no history ii the subject of war is not
treated in it. We are told that war as a subject of
history would be excusable if the truth were told about
it. It is the general belief that historians do tell
the truth and truth only, unlike writers of historical
novels, historical dramas, and similar literature. War
is not the sole subject of history. Bad history deserves
condemnation; but history written with the sole object
of propaganda for peace, suppressing statements of
facts, deserves equal condemnation. The historian is
as much actuated by the desire for peace as the politi-
cian. Abolition of war is a delusion and a snare. It is
beyond the pale of practical politics. War is a law
of human existence. It cannot be eradicated; but it may
be ennobled. Let us therefore prefer conciliation to
coercion, and aim more at peace and less at war.
Let us aim at the annihilation of international anarchy,
and the substitution of world peace. Let us resolve on
the renunciation of war and make the ties of peace too
strong to break. Let us think and act not in tepihs of
nationalism but in terms of internationalism.
APPENDIX I
MANUSCRIPTS
Daivajna Vildsa (Oriental Manuscripts Library,
Madras).
According to the colophon at the end of the book,
this work consists of 108 uUasas, 32,000 granthas, and
the author is one Kancham Yellarya, son of Naraya and
Viramma. There is a section in this manuscript entitled
Rajacaritra khanda, f oiming the 106th and 107th ullasas.
Like so many books which were written in medieval
times, most of the portions are a compilation of opinions
and texts from ancient and reputed authors like
Vasistha, Brhagpati and Yajnavalkya. Ullasa 106 is
devoted to the different kinds of abhiseka or anomting
ceremony of the king. In ullasa 107 there is mention of
a number of i^stras and banas, as also the sevenfold
upayas, like sama, and dana. It also contains a short
notice of the characteristics of horses and elephants,
and how to ride them. The rest of the ullasa deals
with the administration of justice. The author of this
manuscript must have flourished in the 15th century A.D.
Hariharacaturangam (Oriental Mss. Library, Madras).
It is the work of Kuruvajapeyayaji Godavaramisra,
the minister of Maharajadhiraja Gajapati Pratapa-
rudradeva. Thus the work belongs to the 15th century
■^.D. (or the early 16th). Its study is valuable in that
it indicates the continflity of traditional methods and
prescriptions, and in this connexion furnishes additional
information from sources known to the author at the
364
wah in ancient india
time of composition. This manuscript of the Harihara-
caturanga is divided into eight books. The first four
deal with the foui-fold force in the order of elephants,
chariots, horses' and infantry. While those sections
on elephants and horses occupy nearly 90 pages respec-
tively, the information under the headings of chariots
and infantry is meagre and occupies about four pages
in the manuscript. The last four books deal respec-
tively with dhanurveda, rajaniti, dhanurvidya and
kridajoiddha. (This last is a period of training or
apprenticeship after the period of study is over). In
the opening lines of Book V the author expresses his
indebtedness to previous works on the Dhanurveda and
in this connexion mentions four works — the Ausanasa
Samhita, Viracintamani, Kodandacaturbhujam and
Sarasangraham^ all of which are probably lost to-day.
Towards the end of the sixth book, anot|;ier work, called
Jayacintdmani is referred to. It is said to be a work
bearing on astronomy and astrology, and the king is
advised therein to set out on an expedition at arr auspi-
cious time.
Viramitroda/ya Laksanapmkdsa is by Mitramisra,
son and grandson respectively of Parasurama Misra and
Hamsapandita, It was composed at the instance of king
Virasimha, the son of Madhukarasaha and the grand-
son of king Prataparudra. (The Chowkhamba Sanskrit
Series, Benares, 1916). It is a compilation of material
from different literary works which were authoritative
during the 16th century, when the author flourished. In
dealing with weapons of war and the threefold forces cff '
elephants, horses and infantry, <t has drawn rich and
valuable material from the following works, some of
which are now not traceable, others have been printed,
MANUSCRIPTS
365
and some are still in manuscript. The MSS. referred
to and still available are: —
1. Rajavijaya (Jammu and Kashmir Library).
2. Siddhantasekhara by Sripati.
3. Traiyambika Dhanurveda (also named Isana
samhita), said to be available in Orissa.
4. Viracintamani Dhanurveda (noticed in
Rajendralal Mitra’s catalogue).
5. Parasaia Samhita, available in the Oriental
Manuscripts Library, Madras.
6. Salihotram (also named Asvasastra), available
in the Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras.
7. Gana Asvayurveda Do.
The following are the manuscripts not traceable and
probably lost: —
1. Ausanasa Dhanurveda as narrated by Sukra to
J amadagni.
2. Kalhapa’s Asvasarasamuccaya which refers to
« Salihotram.
3. Bhoja’s Loharnava.
4. Khadga Kosa.
5. Loharatnakara.
6. Brhaspati Samhita.
7. Hastihrdayaprabandha.
8. Vaidyaka tantra.
The following are published: —
1. Visnusinrti.
2. Varahasamhita (the same as Varahamihira’s
Brhatsaihhita).
3. Palakaj)ya (printed as Hastyayurveda),
(Poona).
366
WAR m ANCIENT INDIA
4. Jayadeva (datta) Asvayurveda (printed in 1886
— Asiatic Society of Bengal as Asvavaidyaka.)
5. Nakula, Asva^stra, Do.
6. Nakula, Asvasiksita, Do. ;
7. Vi§nudliarmottara Purana, (Bombay).
APPENDIX n
FLAGS IN ANCIENT INDIA
The origin and use of flags can be traced to the
earliest Indian literature, the Bg Veda SamhitA The
term dhvaja occurs twice in this Veda.^ Besides dhvaja^
we meet with a good number of expressions for a banner
in Vedic literature. These are Akra,* Krtadhvaja,®
Ketu,^ Brhatketu,® Sahasraketu.® It appears that the
Vedic host aimed their arrows at the banners of the
enemy. The idea was that once the banner was captured,
or struck, a claim was made for success in the battle
over the enemy. Ketu was a pennon small flag as con-
trasted with Brhatketu or the big flag. Sahasraketu
may be a thousand flags or it may be interpreted as a
knight who had brought under control a thousand flags
of enemies. Ketu by itself may mean a hero or a chief.
We are»told that banners and drums were counted among
the insignia of ancient Vedic kings. This tradition is
seen in the Atharva Veda which has an unmistakable
reference to a flag with the device of the Surya (the
Sun God).
The coupling of drums with banners is indeed
significant. The drum represents music. It may be the
1 VII. 85.2: X. 103.11 (Vedic Index, I, p. 406).
2 1.143.7:3.1.12.
3 7.8.3.2.
4 1.27.12.
5 V. 8.2.
6 I, 119.1.
m
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDU
music of the festival and festivities; or it may be war
music. For the drum was used in those days for both
purposes. So ope has to infer that banners were used
not only for military purposes but also as decoration on
festive occasions. We are concerned here with the
military use of the flag. It was at once a symbol and
an emblem. It was not peculiar to the Indian nation.
Every ancient nation, e.g. the Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek
and Roman, had its own standards in different colours
and devices. Every modem nation possesses its own
flag. Britain is proud of her Union Jack and is prepared
to stake its all for keeping it unimpaired throughout the
British Empire. Turning to ancient India we find
that there was no common flag in the sense in which
we understand to-day the term ‘ national * There
were a number of flags and the number depended upon
the number of heroes or leaders in war. Every leader
; had his own insignia to distinguish one division from
the other. This device avoided confusiori in the ranks
both during the march of an army and in action in the
battle-field. This is much in evidence in the epic
MuMhhdrata. In the battle-field of Kuruksetra, one
could see a number of flags. The following are some of
the flags which distinguished the Pandava and the
Kaurava heroes in that historic battle-field. The expres-
sions standing for flags and banners in the epics were
dhyaja, ketu and pataka.* In the Drona Parva of the
, MahabMrata to a question put by Bhrtarastra, Sanjaya
reports about the various flags and banners employed by
the Kurus and the Pandavas. One full chapter (ICKT)*’
7 E. W. Hopkins, JA08., 13, pp. 243 ff.
8 Mhb., I. 63.17: RSma. 11. 67.26.
I
FLAGS IN ANCIENT INDIA
869
is dsToted to it.
heads : —
The name of
the hero.
Arjuna
Asvatthama
Karna
Krpa
Vrsasena
s
Salya, king of
Madras.
Jayadratha or
Sindhuraja,
,i£hurisraYas,
the son of
Somadatta.
Let us analyse it under the following
The Flag.
The Kapidhvaja or the flag with
the figure of Hanuman (monkey)
with monkey’s face and a long tail,
creating terror in the rank and file
of the enemy (Cf. Ch. 85.4).
Simhalangxilam or the flag with
the figure of the tail of a lion, radiat-
ing, golden in colour, and affording
delight to the Kurus.
Hastikaksaya — golden, and adorn-
ed with festoons and garlands flying
aloft in the air.
Govrsa — a representation of the
bull. This is the device also of Siva.
Mayfira — the device of a peacock.
This is also the emblem of god
Subrahmanya.
Sitadhvaja, auspicious and radiant.
Varaha or the boar emblem, white
in colour. In the chariot adorned
with this silvery flag, Jayadratha
shone like Pusan of old in the Deva-
sura wars.
The Yupa flag — shone like the snn
with, the moon thei*ein. It looked
just like the yupa in the Rajasfiya
sacrifice.
P-47
370
WAR IN ANCIBNT INDIA
The name of The Flag,
the hero.
^ala , j.. The elephant standard white in
colour — resplendent just like the flag
of Indra, the king of gods.
Duryodhana . . The serpent (Naga) flag set with
gold and gems.
Bhi^a .. Taladhvaja: Cognisance of a pal-
myra tree.
. Other references to flags of equally great heroes who
took part in the Great War are found here and there.
Ghatotkaca
Dronacarya
Bhimasena
Yudhisthira
Nakula
SahadSva
Abhimanyu
Cakradhvaja or the device of a
chariot wheel (Drona P. ch. 23.76).
Later on the emblem of eagle is said
to have been his standard (Ihid. 91).
i. . His was a representation of
Kamandalu covered by deer-skin
(,Ihid. 83).
Simliadhvaja or tlie lion standard.
The eyes were set with diamonds
{Ihid. 84).
. . The Soma device — the moon res-
plendent with all stars and planets
{Ihid. 85).
.. Sarabhadlivaja — its back being
gold but terrific in appearance {Ihid.
87).
, ’ The Hamsa or swan emblem vdth
bells and festoons terrifying
enemy {Ihid. 88).
. . SarngapaksI dhvaja — golden in
colour {Ihid. 90).
FIAGS IN ANCIENT INDIA
371
The name of The Flag,
the hero.
The Paurava Cognisance of a hom.
king.
The Kalinga Cognisance of Agni or fire,
king.
It is said that in vanquishing Nila, Asvatthama cut
off the bow, dhvaja and umbrella of the enemy by the
three sharp holla instruments (Drona P. ch. 31.23).
This shows that even in the epic period pulling down the
flags in battle amounted to defeating the foe.
In the Bamdyana we hear of the standard of
Bharata containing the emblem of a Kovidara tree.
Even gods had their own streamers flying. Animals
figure largely as emblems of these gods. Siva’s flag had
the device of a bull,^ Visnu’s the device of Garuda or an
eagle,^® Indr a ’s the emblem of the sword, Kama’s the
device of fish (makaradhvaja).
Reference to flags of different kinds is found in the
Kalpataru, Hemacandra’s work, Kriyasdra, Pratisthd-
sdra sahgraha, Suta Samhitd, and Yuktikalpataru and
other works.^
That every vyuha of the Mauryan army was
distinguished by the device of dJwajas and patdkas,
besides the special musical instruments like turya is
evident from the Arthasastra of Kautalya. It is said
that these different divisions had their respective
flags and banners whether they were in camp, in
^ 9 Br. Purdna, III. 3.79.
10 Gurudadhvaja.
11 See in this connexion an article on ' Flags in Ancient India ’
by H. A. Talcherkar, Modern Review, August 1924.
WAE IN ANCIENT INDIA
372
march or in active warfare.^^ It is not possible to
show whether dhmjas and patakas connoted the same
meaning of flags and banners or they stood for
different varieties of standards. The fact ^t Kautalya
uses the two terms together raises a doubt that
dhvaja was different from a pataka. Patakas were
possibly festoons which were a feature and adorn-
ment of an army and those were hanging in rows
between two points of the army. The patakas were such
an essential feature of the army in later times that the
army came to be designated as Patdkinl by writers like
Kalidasa. Later on in suggesting remedies against the
injuries of one’s own army/^ Kautalya again refers to
the trumpets, dhvaja and pataka, and suggests the pre-
paration of a certain medicinal mixture which, when
besmeared over these flags and banners, would tend to
remove the poison at the very look, if their poisoning
were in any way suspected. The dhvaja was evidently
a flag attached to a pole on the war chariot.^® It was so
much valued that the army became designated in the
Mahdhhdmta, dhvajanl and in Tamil kodiccenai}^
12 Bk. II, ch. 33.
The same idea is repeated in a later chapter dealing with
vyflhas in general (Bk. X, ch. 6). Each vyuha had its own tflrya-
ghosa and ensigns.
13 Ra^u. IV, 82.
14 Bk. 14, ch. 4.
15 Koditter of Tamil literature occurs twice in Silappadikdram
(XXII. 109; XXVII. 152).
16 SUap. XXVI. 152 comm. Again in the Perumkadai the fWlff
Kodippadai occurs twice on pp. 139 and 369 (Swaminatha Aiyer ed.
(1924) ). Here the term stands for the vanguard of the army as
di^inguished from the rear-guard which goes by the name Kfllai.
fLACJS IK ANCIENT lMl>lA
873
It is iaterestiag that different designs of flags and
banners have been wonderfully carved in wood and stone
and are carefully preserved at S^chi, Bhuvanesvara
and Ajanta caves. A look at the wood cuts Nos. 164 and
165 of Cunningham’s Bhilsa Topes (p. 215) will
demonstrate a beautiful carving of a flag as an oblong
piece of cloth with or without diagonal stripes. A number
of flag staffs are also seen. The use of flags meant also
the use of the staffs on whose top the flag was generally
let flown. The staffs were made of different wood, with
a bias in favour of bamboo.
The use of flags and banners was not a peculiar
feature of the North Indians. The early Tamil kings of
South India had their own standards. The emblem of
their crests seiwed as the sign of their banners. We
hear of kayal (fish), silai (bow) and puli (tiger) flag.”
In the Sinnamanur plates of Rajasimha Pandya, the
Pandyan is designated as mlnadhvaja. The expression
Pulikkodiyon (he who possesses the tiger flag) occurs
again iff the Perumtogai (1200). Besides the streamers
attached to the chariots, the flags were also carried on
elephants in Tamil warfare. Reference is made to this
in several places in Tamil literary works, especially the
Puran^uru (st. 9 and 38). Lofty standards of varied
colours were placed on young war elephants which
constituted an army. It is said that the white coloured
17. QuiikiQmirm
GaurQth^il. uirrriSp
aiuSev'/r® S&oiqetnL—d Q^sirQenifl tli
Lfiu^p^ QuairQet)
Q fBirm
^eirjpiLf 0Qif} uy0tl®(Jau/r QtmmQm
M. Raghava Aiyangar, Perumtogai, 15.
war IK AKClfiKT IKDIA
ar4
flag was a jsign of victory.^® That the flag signified
victory in war is also seen in other works like the
Maduraikkahji/® and Malaipadukadam.^® Thus it was the
South Indian practice to use the same emblem for both
their seals and standards. That this was followed by
later kings of South Indian dynasties can be seen from
the Pallavas, ChMukyas and Vijayanagar monarchs. The
Pallavas had the Vrsabhadhvaja or the Bull Standard.
Boar flags were used both by the Chalukyas and the
Vijayanagar kings.
Barring some of the seals which have the lion
emblem, the Pallava cognisance was the bull, as testified
to us by epigraphy and literature. In the inscriptions
the Pallava king Rajasimha has the significant attributes
Sri V^abhadarpa and Rsabha lancana. Paramesvara-
varman I is styled as Vrsanka and Nandivarman
Sakavaraketana. Of all the evidences the last is im-
portant for our purpose, Sakavaraketana is one who
shines by his bull standard. This proves that the
device for the seal and the flag was common also to the
18. s0<9=ttj Oeuear Qairu^ Puram 362. 1. 5.
eS^ajiM Q&jeoQmin^ Mullai, 91.
euirsiiQ(^iu Qeu^Q<srn^ Padirru, 69. 1. 1.
19. Qeujffuio Quiujr euirQjriSeo QsiretTiOxirefr
ifirQi—ir KeoihQujpi Lj&srQsiruf.
^Qjriredpptiresr iQeoeijQeup (njt&srQiuirQ
Lf€i>etfuuL—s Qstr^jpi LSmt-Qpir QeDiriLi^u
QpQpp Spei^iT esr^Qairu^
Omruf-Qiuir® isekueo
ueoQaijpi uprens iSho^u
Qu(^eu«injr U)(^ibS £dii—ieix
IHadurai, 11. 367-74.
20. uinSr, Qm^QpQ^ Qmirtf.u9p
Q^g^jpuit
IL 581-2.
FLAGS IN ANCIENT INDIA
375
Pallava and this was the bull. As if to corroborate this,
in the Prabandham, Tirumangai Mannan expostulates
the Pallava monarch
vidai ver kodi verpadai mun uyartta
{Periya TirumoU, ii, 9.)
an unquestionable reference to the victory-giving bull
flag.
When we come to the Chalukyas we find the device
on their crest the vardha or boar. Their flag was known as
pdlidhvaja. Vinayaditya Satyaisraya won this decoration
of pdlidhvaja after vanquishing a northern king and
subduing the Ceylon contemporary to the rank of a
tributary ruler.^^ What the palidhvaja means is still a
mystery. The explanation offered by J. F. Fleet as the
banner of the sword-edge^“ does not appear to be satis-
factory.
That the Vijayanagar kings used the boar crest and
boar standard is also evident from the inscriptions and
the Local Records. It is said in the chronicle of cliiefs of
Nadimijloddi Pajayam that king Krsnadevaraya in his
expedition against Gulburga beat the dram of victory
and set up the vrsabha dhvaja.^®
The Marathas appear to have had two bamiers'^*
Jaripatka and Bhagava zenda. It is doubtful whether
21 See the Vakkaleri Plates of Klrtivaman II — Ep. Ind., Vol. V,
pp. 201-203.
22 Ind. Ant. 1878, pp. Ill and 245.
23 liocal Kecords, Vol. XXXIX, p. 12.
• *^4 P. K. Gode’s paper in LII.Q., Vol. XVI, pp. 40-47. ‘Aftagir
was conferred by Shivaji on his generals and officers of lesser rank
as early as the seventeenth century. Similarly the honour of carry-
ing Jari Pataka, the golden standard conferred on distinguished
376
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
both of them were used for military purposes. The
latter, Bhagava zenda, has been identified with Parijata-
dhvaja attributed in literature to Sambhaji.
generals, was also quite in accord with the Mughal custom.’
Surendranath Sen: Adwinistrative System of the Marathas (1925),
p. 639.
APPENDIX in
WAR MUSIC
(War musical instrmnents are mentioned from the
!l^g Veda Samhita onwards. It proves that music
was a feature of ancient Indian warfare^ There were
musical instruments which w'ere intended for use only
on sacrificial and festive occasions. l3?here were others
which were used in both war and peace like dundxihlii.
There were still others which were used only for war
purposes.^ We are concerned here with the second and
third categories. Diindiibhi was a kettle-drum. It was ■
also the earth drum, made by digging a hole in the
ground and covering it with a hide.^ It was employed in
religious rites and ceremonies. We meet with the
expression hMimi dunduhhi in the Samhitas" and the
Brahmanas.^ 'From this one has to infer that dimdnhhi
might he of different kinds. And bhiimi dimdiihhi was
a later invention of the Aryan peoples.
Cin the Rg Veda Samhita we meet again with another
instrument Bakura with its variations as we conjecture
Bakura and Bekura.) In the passage in which it occurs^
it was possibly an instrument for war purposes. It is
said that in the course of an expedition against the
Dasyus, the Asvins blew this musical instrument to help
their army against their enemies. From the circum-
•*1 R.V. I, 28.5 ; A.r. V. 20.1.
2 Taitt., 8. VII, 5.9.3. •
3 Pancavim^a Br. V. 5.19.
4 I. 117.21.
D— 48
878
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
stances in which this is mentioned one has to take it that
this Bakura was solely employed for war purposes.
we pass on to the Epic period we find different
varieties of musical instruments. E. W. Hopkins who
has made some study of these instruments® seems
to think that hherl may not be cymbals. Bherl is
certainly a special sort of drum. There was also a
mahabheri!^ The old dundubhi was there and it was
often accompanied by the bherl. The bherl was sounded
by beating, and the beating of the bherl was a call to
arms.® Other varieties of the drum mentioned in the
epic are panava, krakaca, anaka (beaten at one end),
mahanaka, Pesi (kahala), pUvSkara and pataha. There
is a doubt whether krakaca said to be jaymnangala by
the commentator can come under the category of drums.’^
The same holds true of govisanikas, probably horn
instruments. In addition to the drums and their deafen-
ing noise in the battle-field, we find a large use of shells
(^nkha) which served apparently as trurhpeting instru-
♦ments. Among the sankhas there were different kinds.
As every warrior was distinguished by his own respective
[flag, he had his own conch which he blew as a war cry at
,the commencement of the battle, during the actual
I operations and after a decisive victory. The names of
conches used are interesting* —
Krsna Pancajanya
Yudhisthira Anantavijaya
Bhima Paundra
Arjuna Devadatta
5 JA08, XIII, pp. 318 ff. ,
6 Affet. 11.62; VI, 17.16: Rawa. VI. 34.27.
7 Ibid., VII. 39.31; VI. 51.23; 99.17-19; 43.7-8; mtd, I. 13. -
8 Ibid., V. 51.24-26.
WAjEl MUSIC
Kakula Sugho§a
Sahadeva Ma^ipuspaka
There were besides, the blowing of horn (govi§anika),
gomuka and turya which may represent the trumpets of
war. / In Bk. IV, ch. 4 of the Artha^tra, Kautalya’s
reference to turya or trumpets along with flags has been
already pointed out. Drums and trumpets largely
figure as we go on in the march of history. The use of
conch-shells becomes rarer until its use was once for all
restricted to temple services and other rites and cere-
momes.
/ifEven among the war instruments relating to music
in We epic i>eriod we find a distinction between the music '
[in the field and music in the camp.) In the camp the
melodies are softened and the warriors are ‘ greeted by
the milder notes of the lyre. ’ This incidentally shows
the advance made by epic peoples and their keen artistic
sense. The primitive and simple musical style has been
replaced by thC mature and civilised style. The soldiers
enjoyed ^ood and sweet music after the hard and harsh
music of the battlefield. Mrdanga and panava were^
more for the use of the camp than for the field.^“ Nanda
and upanandakas, special kinds of mrdanga were played
upon by mechanical contrivance so as to produce a joyous
note.”
Tamil literature contains many references to war
musical instruments. Some of them are kodumparai,
murasu, pandil, neduvayir, and mayirkkan murasu.
Murasu is said to be of three kinds of which there was the
vird:' murasu, used in war and victory.^^ There is a
9 Hopkins: op. cit., p. 321. 10 Mhb. VI. 99.18: VII. 39.31.
11 Mhb. VII. 23.86. 12 Saap. p. 118. Puram 58.
380
WAB IN ANOIE5NT INDIA
description of vira murasu in Ptiram 50. Mayirkkap
murasu is the drum covered over with the hairy skin of
the dead bull which had vanquished a tiger when attacked.
This was beaten when head offerings were made by
warriors at the altar of the bhuta.^^ In the battle by
Senguttuvan with the northern kings it is said that
the murasu thundered along with leather kodumparai,
mayirkkan murasu, neduvayir and pandil. The last is
perhaps cymbals. All these made a hell of noise so as
to enthuse warriors to fight with redoubled vigour and
energy. A similar idea is afforded by a stanza in Villi-
putturar Mahabharatam.
Qpirar mirbf.o>ns SfSsstr^iif-QuQ^LDjr u®u<oa>p
QppSiu
errff'f '®<xir®snii9 Qjr(i£(^jp si'jreueQ^
QppeSliu <s(^6Qs
(^eiojrQ 3=iu 3s(^e9'Xessr Qu)(^«usb)i njeas
Qpi^etjp 6)y36«S^ ^u9QeC(i^
S'ss^irQfFiu at—Qeoesr QaipS&ietfl dsigjeSI
tsesrQLDsifr eu^ffQeu — •s^ear u^eauiy 24.
Here the instruments mentioned are murasu, kara-
dikai, kinai, tu<p, perumaram, murudu, pa^uparai.
Kinai seems to be beaten on one side only in the light of
a line in Purananuru.^® Kara^ai is perhaps Sanskrit
Krakaca. Patuparai and Kodumparai may mean the
same thing. Neduvayir is a long horn instrument. Val-
valai and varivalai are varieties of the conch. The
instruments like Murudu and lute must be more for the
camp than for the field.
13 ^Ua/p. V. 76-88: see also Maduraikkafiji, 11. 732-3.
14 Ibid., XXVI. U. 133-196.
16 392. i. 5.
APPENDIX IV
CURIOSITIES OP WAR
1. One practice among the primitive Tamil tribes
was the worship on the eve of an expedition of the War
Goddess who was known as Eorravai. This goddess is
propitiated with sacrificial offerings, often accompanied
by dance and song. In the Silappadikarani, the tribe
Ei3niar whose profession was cattle-lifting invoked the
aid of Korravai for the success of their expedition to
the neighbouring village or town, and took a vow to offer
sacrifices at the successful termination of their expedi-
tion. It was their belief that this goddess marched in
front of their army leading them stage by stage to
ultimate victory.^ The way in which she is invoked is
interesting.
jnrQemr
Qjril) jtfessnkQmsmsm QsirQuu irirQeoir
Qmir(S^^ Q'Xirppsiaeu&niuu ujretf LbirQeoir
(^ixiiSIlLQ Sp(^ isiir^eiir.
Kalingattupparani, 97. Cp. iSila, V. 11. 76-88.
The Korravai was the counterpart of the Sanskrit
IBurga whose help was sought by special prayers by
Arjuna, the Panda va, on the eve of the Great Battle
with the Kurus.^
It was similarly believed that a prayer to Durga
meant undoubted and even unlimited victory to one’s
artns. It is strlkmg to note that Ilango-Acligal does not
1 ^Uap. canto XII.
2 See Dikshitar, The Lalita Cult, p. 62.
882 WAB IN ANClKNT 1NX>LA.
refer to Senguttuvan’s prayer to Korravai when he set
out to the North against its kings. On the other hand
it is stated that the blessings came from the local Siva
and Vi§nu temples which he solemnly accepted. Does
this show that the worship of Korravai was confined to
primitive tribes and not to a civilised community to
which Senguttuvan belonged? Perhaps it does.
2. The consultation of auguries is another feature
of the wars in ancient India. Auguries consisted
of sakunam and nimittam.^ In this connection a sutra
of the Tolkappiyam is very significant.^ We have a
series of nimittams here. The first is nal nimittam or
the choice of a particular day auspicious for starting on
an expedition.® The astrologer was an important official
of the state whom the king often consulted. Secondly
from right to left, or from left to right, seeing certain
birds, hearing the voice of others were sure indica-
tions of the success or otherwise of the undertaking.
References to this omen are extensively ihet with both
in early and later Tamil literature.® Among the birds,
Kari (sans. Bharadvaja) is referred to in the Chinta-
mani in connection with the cattle-lifting.^ A third
nimittam was viricciyorttal (sans, upasruti). This is
a statement made by a third person unconcerned with
the actual decision to be taken. In common usage it is
called in Tamil land euirii^Qa^irsd s Then we have what
3 Purapporul, sts. 13 and 22.
4 Puraitinaiyil, 36.
5 See for instance Silap. V. 11. 91-92.
6 See e.g. Puram 20.
7 St. 420.
8 See also MnUaipp&^tu, 11.
CURIOSITIES OP WAR
383
is called orikkural or the howling of a beast, particularly
a jackal. It may be also kalutukural or the howl of a
deAul. The fifth was the fall of headless body or bodies
in the orbit of the sun (vencudar mandilam). The sixth
was the sight of a hole in that mandilam. The seventh
was the appearance of the moon in the day-light. The
last three are rare phenomena cognizable by the senses
only. Kalidasa® refers to adverse winds on the march
of an army. The auspicious day was also fixed by the
place occupied at a particular time by the planets.®®^ The
following lines oP tlie Kalingattupparani throw interest-
ing light on this subject of omens.
mq^uiSlp u>ir(ceiir
ldi—Ui3i^ LD(^uQuLp LDpihQuiTj^tq UjirQeOir
s QiT^arL-ir s06WisQ<s/r«rfl sjupOpiBiq u>ir(ceOT
«/r«\)ffl/0 mirQeoir, 209
6U/r/f(X/3xr iurQeoir
eiiis^jreBeo etjiresBeBQ LdirQeoir
esuTLCiSsiiri^^ em.u^Qe7irjp iurrQsoir
iffuiQsuifl (ouirQ(oOiPiLi itn'Qeoir. 210
uirSsoseir Lfeoir^suiQpi LttirQecir
Ou/T'eBrOa^uj/xSiBfl usirdsiQiuireifl QuirQiuirj^iLj uirQeiir
^sSoj QiseorrQpL—en uueuq^ Lr-jQeoir
sm.j)iLiesiec> Q t ik (s^(T^^ mirps^jQ^ Lf-.n-Qe^ir. 224
3. Vtrakkal. The great warrior who stood to the
last and won the laurel of victory did not go un-
recognised, To perpetuate his memory it was the
^ II XI. 58
^ tl Ibid. 59
9a Piirom 229.
384
"WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Tamil custom to instal a stone called virakkal with an
inscription containing his name and heroic deeds.
Sometimes the hero stone became an object of venera-
tion by the public. The Kural-venba has it :
er^SsarQpm SeOeomiSsir Q^^eSir ueoQsr^Sser
(T^ssraiflcar jy peijir 1)
The virakkal is mentioned largely in epigraphy
and is found throughout the districts of Anantapur,
Cuddapah, Nilgiris, Coorg, etc.^** From the earliest
extant Tamil literature, Tolkappiyam, it appears there
was a regular ceremonial attending the planting of the
hero stone. Any stone and every stone was not to be
used. Only stones appropriate for the occasion were
selected. Then an auspicious hour was fixed to carve
out an image and also the inscription thereon. The
next stage was to get the stone bathed in sacred waters,
being a purificatory ceremony. Then came the pleasant
function of planting it at the suitable place already
fixed. The last was to celebrate it as a deity, sometimes
enclosing it in a building. ,
4. Kdvawmaram : It was a custom with ancient
Tamil monarchs to rear a tree at the outskirts of their
dominions, and to guard it with great care and zeal. The
idea was that if the invading enemy would first attack
this Kavanmaram, and if this were felled down, the
owner of the tree felt it a public shame as it amounted to
vanquishing him.^^ The enemy king removed the tree
to his kingdom and put it to different uses, one of which
was to make out of the cut trunk a war drum.“ The
•
10 Aham. 347, 11. 3-5: 127. ^ 11 Puram, 23, 36, 57. -
12 QpQpQp^eo (u^/d» 11)
si^wugvi 0uj/b/SiU exfeoiudi eSiUGtrUSesor {u^p. 17)
^iupfSuj usmemmub qpir^ 347)
CURIOSITIES OF WAR
386
Kavanmaram was a symbol of sovereignty. It is
said that Imayavaramban Nedunceralatan felled the
Kadamba tree in an island which he captured. The
idea of this Kiivanmaram may be traced back perhaps
to the Pillar cult which may have been a part of the
ancient Dravidian worship. As in ancient Crete the
Tamils of South India attached value to the cult of the
Pillar. It may be that the kings of the Tamil land
attached religious significance to this Kavanmaram, and
hedged it with divinity.
5. Another poculiaiity of the Tamils was to erect
images of women with balls in their hands at the
entrance gates of the king’s palace :
euifluLjS^ uihQ^sirQ uir&neij
Qujst{i^ 6u,ni9®o (^0(2/J00* 67 — 69)
The idea was to treat the enemy kings as members
of the weaker sex. The conquering king felt that he
was superior to all the princes. If the latter had the
courage^ to attack him they had to cut off the cords
with which the image was fastened, and this amounted
to a declaration of war. It was one method to discai’d
and despise the enemy as such.
6. If the men of the Tamil land were heroes, their
women were heroines. There are interesting passages in
the Piirananuru where poetesses have sung in praise
of the heroism of Tamil women, mothers who had given
birth to heroic sons. Okkurmasattiyar, a poetess,
praises a certain lady who gave birth to only one son
•and* who sent him to the field of battle when there was
the country’s call for iP Born in a family of heroes,
this lady dresses the hair of her only son (it may be
noted here that the wearing of tuft was an ancient
D— 49
386
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Tamil practice) and gives him the armour to get ready
for action in the field of battle. She encourages him by
saying that both his father and grandfather gave up
their lives heroically in battle, and it was but proper
that he a young fellow should follow the example of
his dear and near forbears.^®
This may be contrasted with another verse where a
heroic mother heard the disquieting news that her
son lost his courage in action and had fled in fear. If
it were true, she expressed that she should cut off her
breasts that had fed him with milk. With this deter-
mination she entered the battle-field with a sword in her
hand and went on searching for her fallen son. When
she saw her son’s body cut in twain, she felt much more
happy than when she gave birth to him.
j}iris9 luearesr
airesroBjT'i A.iifissr (yn^QoJirm
s&flQp^ik£!i uil.L.6sr Qeisr^sv
iffmp QuiflQp ^essressPir '
Qetj^jrp^ >
euireirQuijp ueii^eu Puram 277.
When a certain mother heard that her son threw
his spear over the enemy’s elephant but could not take
it back, and so unarmed, he had to retreat from the
field, she got distressed and despised her bowels which
yielded that son. She felt that her son had let down
the honour of her family.
euiTffieueo euaSQp eur^eueo p
(Siereu ei>petnp ifissraffsir pssrQesr
QuTQi^iipir txidretsri
jjssetrp Qipsoeofii lSss
IS Puram, 279,
CUEiOSlTIES OF WAE
387
Qua/iSis/s sioosim
j)f^eaiQfis^ Q^ir^fiiu iSQuirm /sS>tir(eiu.
Tol. Porul. 24. Comm.
Equally interesting is the stanza of the poetess
Ponmu(^yar who sets out the duties of parents, son and
king.
ST^flSsos SL-Qeisr
T tdif 2* ^L^CdSST
(cSDeoeui^ji^d QsirQji QsiTsi)eiip(^s si—Qesr
is sir ttii/ sv)L^ Cn sst
^etf)j)isu IT err ^0|Cja=u) Qp(^sQs
aetflQppSii^ Quiuirpso air8sfr-s(^s au-Qeisi. PufWM 312.
Sometimes heroic wives who heard of their hus-
bands’ death in the field were unwilling to survive them.
They went to the scene of action in search of the dead
bodies of their husbands. When they found them out
they embraced them and sought voluntary death by
entering the funeral pyre.^*
7. There* are other curiosities which marked
ancient ‘Tamil warfare. One was the heroic impulse
which animated the wounded soldier. Normally we
would expect him to get treated and nursed. But the
Tamil soldier who fell in battle badly wounded, refused
to undergo any treatment for his wounds. He preferred
to make his wound more and more ulcerous and thereby
he invoked death. He did not like the idea of living-
after having been beaten to death in the battle. This is
explained in the Purattinaiyiyal of the Tolkappiyam
and goes by the name of Marakkanci being one of the
•ten sub-divisions of An^arkanci of the Kancitturai.
14 See for details the article on Ylmtidymar in M. Raghava
Aiyangar’s arsiccittogudi, pp. 167-177.
388
War in aNCirnt india
8. Puram consists of seven tinais or themes, and
of these vetci, vanci, ulinjai, tumbai and vahai are
related to war efforts on the part of the ancient Tamils.
Later on the tinais became twelve. It is vetci when a
• •
chieftain sends out his troops to seize the cattle of the
neighbouring chief and to distribute the prize among
the villagers and others. Here it was usual for the con-
quering chief to wear vetci garland. This is the expla-
nation of the theme given by Tolkappiyanar. Recovering
the cattle from the enemy is said to be Karandai where,
as a consequence of the success, the Karandai flower was
worn. It is really curious that the Tamils attached
significance to the different flowers representing various
stages of an expedition. In fact the whole of the
Purapporul venbamalai of the 7th century A.D. deals
with these various themes in detail, though by tliis age
the mode of wars in general in South India had been
considerably changed. At the best the Purapporul
Venbamalai can be said to record the old tradition
rather than the contemporary usage. *
BOOKS CONSULTED
1. ORIGINAL SOURCES.
Agni Purana (Anand^rama series).
Aitareya Brahmana (Asiatic Society of Bengal).
Amarakosa.
Apastamba Dharmasutra (Bombay Sans. Series).
Aidhasastra of Kautalya (Trivandrum San. Series).
Asvalayana Grbya Sutra.
Atharva Veda Samhita.
Do. Translation by W. D. Whitney
(Harvard Series).
Ausanasa Dhanurveda.
Barhaspatya Arthasastra ed. F. W. Thomas.
Bhagavata Purana (Kumbakonam ed.).
Brahmanda Purana (Bombay).
Brhaspati Samhita (S. B. E.).
Baudhayana Dharma Sutra (Mysore Oriental Series).
CatuV^atika of Aryadeva.
Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum III: Gupta Inscrip-
tions.
Dasakumaracarita.
Devicandragupta.
Devi Bhagavata.
Gautama Smrti (S.B.E.).
Harihara Caturahga.
1 Ha'i'ivamsa.
Harsacarita (ed. — Cowell and Thomas).
HastyajTirveda.
Index to the MahSbharata: Sorenson.
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
ddo
Inscriptions of Asoka ed. Hultzsch.
The Jatakas ed. by E. B. Cowell.
Kiamandakanitisiara (Trivandrum San. Series).
Ehazaiun-l Futuh of Amir Khusrau ed. by Prof. M.
Habib.
Kodandama^dana.
Kau^taki Brahmana (translation by A. B. Keith).
LaghvarhannitisSra of Hemacandra.
Laksa^iapraka^
Laukikanyaya Sahgraha (Pandit Series).
Mahabharata (Kumbakonam ed.).
Mahavamsa.
M^avadharmai^stra (Bombay).
Markandeya Purana.
Matsya Purana (Anandasrama Series).
Matahgallla (Trivandrum San. Series).
Do. translation by Edgerton.
ManasoUasa of Somesvara.
Mudraraksasa (Bombay).
Nitiprakasika of Vaisampayana.
Nitivakyamrta of Somadeva (Kavyamala Series).
Nai^dha.
Padma Purana.
Periplus — ed. by Schoff.
Pratijnayaugandharayana of Bhasa ( Trivandrum
Series).
Pudukottai State Inscriptions.
Baghuvamsa of K^idasa.
R&jatarangini of Kalha^a (Bombay San. Series).
Ramaya^a of Valnuki (Kumbakonam ed.).
Eajcuuiipika — (Trivandrum San. Series).
]^gveda SamhitS.
BOOKS CONSULTED
Sakimtala of Kalidasa.
Satapatha Brahmana (S.B.E.).
Sarngadhara paddhati ed. Peterson.
Sisupalavadha of Magha.
Sivatatvaratnakara (Madras).
Sivavyasadhanurveda,
Sukranitisara ed. by Oppert.
Sulapani-Caturanga dipika.
Samarangana stitradhara of Bhoja (Gaekwad San.
Series).
Skanda Purana.
South Indian Inscriptions.
Taittiriya Samhita (Anandasrama Series).
Uttararama Carita.
Vajasaneyl Samhita (Bombay).
Vamana Purana.
Varaha Purana.
tVayu Purana (Anandasrama Series).
Vasistha Dhanurveda.
VasisthJi Samhita (S.B.E,).
Vedic Index (Macdonell and Keith).
Visnudharmottara Purana.
Visnu Smrti ( S.B.E. ).
V ikramaurvasiya.
Vaisampayana niti ed. by Oppert.
Yajnavalkya Smrti (Bombay).
Yogayatra of Yarahamihira.
Yajurveda Samhita.
Yuktikalpataru of Bhoja (Cal. Oriental Series).
TAMIL SOUKCES.
Kalingattupparani ed. by Kannaiya Naidu (1941),
892
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Manimekalai ed. Dr. V. Swaminatha Ayyar.
N andikkalambakam.
PadiiTuppattu ed. Dr. V. Swaminatha Ayyar.
Pattuppattu „
Purananuru „
iSilappadikaram „
Do. trn. by V. R. R. Dikshitar (O.U.P.).
Tirukkural.
Tolkappiyam.
Villiputturar Bharatam.
2. JOURNALS AND COMMEMORATION VOLUMES.
Aryan Path, Bombay.
Annals of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
Bhandarkar Commemoration Volume.
Bulletin de 1’ Ecole Franeaise d ’Extreme-orient.
Epigraphia Camatica.
Epigraphia Indica.
Indian Culture, Calcutta.
Indian Antiquary.
Indian Historical Quarterly, Calcutta.
Indian Art and Letters.
Journal of Indian History, Madras.
Journal of Indian Art.
Journal of Department of Letters, Calcutta.
Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, London.
Journal of the Bombay University.
Journal of the Madras University.
Journal of the American Oriental Society.
P. V. Kane Commemoration Volume.
Kalaimagal, Madras.
Modem Review, Calcutta.
BOOKS CONSULTED
893
Memoirs of Asiatic Society^ of Bengal, Calcutta.
Man in India.
New Review, Calcutta.
K!. B. Pathak Commemoration Volume.
Sir C. R. Reddi Commemoration Volume.
Sen Tamil, Madura.
Woolner Commemoration Volume.
3. MODERN WORKS.
Aiyangar, S. Krishnaswami — (1) Sources of Vijaya-
nagar History and (2) Contributions of South
India to Indian Culture.
Aiyangar, K. V. Rangaswarni — (1) Some Aspects of
Ancient Indian Polity and (2) Rajadharma.
v Aiyangar, P. T. Srinivasa — History of the Tamils.
Aiyangar, M. Raghava — Peruntogai.
Abbe Dubois — Hindu maimers, customs and ceremonies.
Alberimi’s India.
Ajanta Frescoes — India Society.
. Ancient Khotan — M. Aurel Stein.
Bhandarkar, D. R. — Some Aspects of Ancient Indian
Culture (1940).
Bannerji, P. N. — Public Administration in Ancient
India.
Beal — ^Life of Hiuen Tsang.
Birdwood, Sir G-eorge — Industrial Arts of India.
Brooke, Stopford A. — A Discourse on War.
Broughton — Letters from a Maratha Camp.
Burns, C. D. — War.
Belli Prasad — The State in Ancient India.
Cunningham', A. — (1) Cdins of Ancient India. (2) The
Bhilsa Topes.
Cambridge History of India, Volume I.
n~50
3d4
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
Clausewitz — The Art of War.
Clarke — Medieval and Military Architecture.
Chronicles of Froissart (Macmillan).
Chakravarti, P. C. — The Art of War in Ancient India
(Dacca University).
W. Church — ^Marlborough.
Coomaraswami, A. K. — ^Visvakarma.
Dikshitar, V. R. R. — Hindu Administrative Institutions.
Do. The Maiiryan Polity.
.;Do. Studies in Tamil Literature and
History.
Do. Some Aspects of Vayu Purana.
Date, G. T. — The Art of War in Ancient India (O.U.P.).
Dharma, P. C. — The Ramayana Polity.
Elliot and Dowson — ^History of India.
Edgerton — ^Pancatantra Reconstructed.
Do. Indian and Oriental Armour.
Glover, Edward — War, Sadism and Pacifism (Allen &
Unwin).
Parnell, L. R. : — The Higher Aspects of Greek fjeligion.
Gnlikere — Through Wonderlands of the Universe.
Giles, L. — The Art of War.
Ghose, N. — Indian Literature and Culture Origins.
Gopinatha Rao — Hindu Iconography.
Gopalan, R.— History of the Pallavas of Kanchi.
Gopal, M. H. — Mauryan Public Finance.
Ghoshal, U. N. — ^Hindu Political Theories.
Griffith — Specimens of Indian Poetry.
^ Hall — The Ancient History of the Hear East. • ,
Hildebrandt — ^Airships, Past and Present.
How to prevent War— (Victor Gollanz, Ltd., London).
Hopkins, E. W.— Ethics of Indig,
BOOKS CONSULTED
m
Havell, E. B. — ^Indian Sculpture and Painting.
Hunter — Orissa.
Henry — Napoleon’s War maxims.
Henderson — Science of War.
Indian Architecture (Oxford Press).
Irvine, W. — The Army of the Indian Moghuls.
James, W. — The Variety of Religious Experience
(Longmans 1908).
Jayaswal, K. P. — Hindu Polity.
Do. Imperial History of India.
Do. A History of India.
Jevons, F. B. — An Introduction to the History of Reli-
gion (6th ed.).
Krom N. T. and T. Van Erp — Borobudur.
Ludwig Bachhofer — Early Indian Sculpture.
Lassen — Indische Altertumskunde.
Law, N. N. — Interstate relations in Ancient India.
Law, B. C.-*-A History of Pali Literature.
Malory — Morte d’ Arthur.
Mookerjee, R. K. — ^A History of Indian Shipping.
Monahan, F. J. — The Early History of Bengal (Oxford).
Murray, H. J. R. — A History of Chess.
McCrindle — Invasion of Alexander.
Do. Fragments of Arrian and Megasthenes.
Mahalingam', T. V. — Society and Administration under
Vijayanagar.
Morgan — Ancient Society.
Macdougall, W.— An Introduction to Social Philosophy
(15th ed.).
Macdougall — Modern Warfare.
Maodonell, A. F. — Vedic Mythology.
396 WAR tN ANCiBI^T INDIA
Nag, Kalidas — ^Les Theories Diplomatiques de le Inde
Ancienne.
Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. — The Colas.
Oppert, G. — On the Weapons etc. of the Hindus.
Oman, Charles — A History of the Art of War in Middle
Ages.
Perris, G. H. — The War Traders ( Chancery Lane
Press).
Parker — Ceylon.
Plato — Laws.
Parmentier, A. — ^Alburn Historique.
Ronaldshay — A Bird’s-eye View of India.
Robei'tson — Disquisition.
Rapson — A Catalogue of Indian Coins.
Risley — Ethnographical Glossary.
Rice, Lewis — ^Mysore Gazetteer.
Sarkar, Sir Jadunath — Sivaji.
Saletore, B. A. — Social and Political life in Vijaya-
nagar Empire.
Sewell, Robert — ^A Forgotten Empire.
Smith, V. A. — ^A History of Fine Arts in India and
Ceylon.
Smith, V. A. — ^An Oxford History of India.
Senart — Caste in Lidia.
Siddhanta, N. K. — The Heroic Age of India (Longmans
1939).
Sen, S. N. — The Military system of the Marathas.
Tutorial History of Greece.
lyior-nAnthropology.
TJrwick, E. J. — A Philosophy , of Social Progress
(Methuen, London) (1912).
Varthema — ^Itinerary (Haklyut Society).
fiOOkS CONSULTED 39^
Vincent, W. — The Commerce and Navigation of the
Ancients.
Visvanatha, S. V. — International Law in Ancient India.
Watters — Yuan Chwang.
Warmington — A. History of Ancient Geography.
Wheaton — Elements of International Law.
Winternitz, M. — ^A History of Indian Literature.
Woodworth, R. S. — Psychology (1930).
Wells, H. G. — The Outline of History.
INDEX
'Abd-ur-Raz&k, 295
Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna, 43, 173,
243.
Abbyudita, a sacrifice, 94.
Acyutaraya, and Ceylon, 296.
Admiralty, use of, 186*90.
Agatbareids, 190.
Agni Pura^a, the, 88, 182;
— details of a bow in the, 95;
— description of the tomara in
the, 107;
— on ambassadors, 339;
— on the armoury, 217;
— on the battle line, 246;
— on a city, 255;
— on the defects of fortresses, 257 ;
— on the making of arrows, 98;
— on the march for the battle,
238, 240;
— on the method of attacking an
enemy, 245;
— on the method of using a noose,
108-9;
— on the paUi6a, 114;
— on sieges, 262;
— on the site of the battlefield
and the arrangement of the
army, 244-5;
— on vytlha varieties, 269, 272;
— on war-elephants, I'^O;
•— recommendation of tactics in
the, 274.
Aitfpreya 3, 24S;
— deseriptioh of an arrow with
fire in 103;
— description of the fashioning of
the arrows by the Gods in, 94;
distinction between a charioteer
and a warrior in the, 158.
Ajanta, cave paintings at, evidence
of the, on the weapons of war,
137-40;
— frescoes at, 291.
Alarka, son of Madalasa, King,
346-7.
Alexander, the Great, 131, 145, 169,
170, 236, 244, 246;
— use of iron in India during the
period of the invasion of, 129.
Alidha, a position taken for the
discharge of arrows, 99.
Allahabad Prasasti, of Samudra-
gupta, 289.
Arnarako^a, nautical terms in the,
286.
Ambassadors, place and functions
of the, 337-51;
— sanctity of the life of the, 61-2.
Amaravati, stulptures at, 131,
134-5, 144.
AmwktamCLlyQdat a work of
deva HAya, 194, 212.
Andhras, Brahman regime during
thp age of the, 52;
— navy of the, 288-9;
— ship coins of the, 187-8.
Angada, 237;
— battle of, with Kampapa, 125;
— embassy of, from RAma to
RAvapa, 347-8.
Angkor- Wat in Cambodia, archaeo-
logical evidence at, for the use
of iron, 129;
— sculptures and reliefs In th%
# temple of, 144-5.
Antimachus, 150. ^
Antiochus, 287, 335.
Anudatlka, a military officer, 228.
INDEX
ApatsaMyan, a Brahman comman-
der under Kr^padeva BAya, 194-5.
Apollo, bow-God of the Greeks, 101.
Appolodotus I, 150.
Apratiratha, 14.
Arbudi, 27.
Arjuna, 9, 34, 43, 57, 76, 119, 124,
270, 271, 281;
— gap^iva of, 96;
— monkey standard of, 246;
— penance of, sculptured at Muha-
balipuram, 141;
— Uttara, his name while in dis-
guise, 15.
Armour, in Indian warfare, 12C-9.
Army, the camp in the, 241-3;
— characteristics of a good, 390-97;
— Departments of the, 201-33;
— divisions of the, 153 ff;
— non-military olhceis of the,
231-2;
— officers of the, 220-31;
— sixfold, 156-57;
— units of the, 198-9.
Arrian, on the equipment of the
Indian soldiers of war, 100.
Arsenal, tl^, 214-17.
Artha^dstra the (Kautallya), 79,
80, 123, 126, 175, 176, 185, 187,
248, 249, 252, 302, 311, 324;
— conception of a circle of states
in the, 217;
— differentiation by, of water
routes, 288;
— diplomacy of the, 307-10;
— division of war by, 81;
— incomplete list by, of the mukta
and amukta weapons, 122-28;
— list of movable machines given
by,J23-4;
• — on the admiralty as a depart-
ment of administration, 288; %
— on agni-\j&pa, 102;
— on ambassadors, 338, 341-2;
— on the arsenal, 214, 21516;
— on asura yuddha, 89;
— on the bhindip&la and fiakti,
106;
— on the Cakra, 109;
— on Cakravarti-ksetram, 37-8:
— OR the camp of the array, 243;
— on the chariots, 161-3;
— on the composition of the a^'my,
191, 193;
— on the construction of ramparts
and the gates and palaces in a
fort, 248, 249-50;
— on the construction of stables
for elephants, 168;
— on dharma vijaya, 83:
— on the distinction between
lobha and asura vijayas, 88;
— on the drughana, 107;
— on entangling the enemy, 245;
— on five kinds of arrows, 98;
— on four kinds of bows, 96;
— on the gada, 113;
— on the infantry, 180;
— on the instruments of diplo-
macy, 325 ff;
— on Kutayuddha, 86-7;
— on the march for the battle,
238;
— on military officers, 222;
— on the monthly pay of the sol-
diers, 211-12;
— on a mudgara, 114;
— on the naval organisation, 189;
— on the pigeon houses, 283;
— on the regular payment of
soldiers, 210;
— on spies, 354-6, 357-9;
— on the ^ataghni, 115;
— on the seizure of ships bound
for the enemy country, 79;
— on siege operations, 258, 269;
— on the six-fold policy, 312jfl^;
— on the Superintendent of ele-
phants, 167-8;
400
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
— on the Superintendent of
Horses, 176-7;
— on certain kinds of swords,
119;
— on the tenure of the office of
the Senapati, 226;
— on the* value of diplomacy, 300;
— schedule of military officers
according to the, 229;
— spies during the period of, 354;
— treatment of Mauryan public
finance in the, 207-8;
Aryadeva, on how to attack an
enemy at his weak points, 62.
Aryans, see Indo-Aryans,
Asamanja, banishment of, 52.
Asana, 312, 318-20.
ASoka, 131, 233;
— conquest of Kalinga by, 28, 89;
— the dharma vijaya of, Slff;
— fleet of, 288;
— foreign relations of, 335.
A^t^Lkula, 220,
A^fdpada board, 154.
Asura form of war, 265.
Asuravijaya, 235;
— character of, 81 ff.
AHacikitsita, a treatise on horses,
177.
Aivamedha, a sacrifice, perfor-
mance of, 35-7.
AH^a^dstra, a treatise on horses by
Nakula, 177.
ASvatthama, 273.
Aival&yana, 47.
AMyurvedat a treatise on horses
by Jayadeva, 177.
Atan II, voluntary death of being
wounded by Karikfil C51a, 56.
Atharva Veda (Samhita), 13, 15,
26, 30, 31, 32. 34, 35, 36, 65, 67,
75-6, 84, 85, 86, 159, 163n, 179,
180, 337.
— diplomacy during the period of
the, 301;
— mention of fire arms in, 103 >
— on charms and spells in war,
265;
— popularity of mSya and indra-
j&lam in the, 332;
— reference to the a$tapada board
in the, 154;
— reference to the chariots In the,
157-8;
— references to the horses in the,
174;
— reference to spies in the, 352;
Atikaya, a Riak^asa, 111;
— engagement of, with Lak^mapa,
125.
Atiratha, 14.
Attalakas, 249.
Augustus Caesar, Pap(}yan em-
bassy to, 290.
Aurangzeb, commissariat, under,
186.
Au^anasa Dhanurveda, 106ti, 107n,
109n, llln, 112, 113, 247n.
Au^anasa Samhita^ 364.
• Ayodhya, 17, 24;
* — compared to an aerial car, 281 ;
— desci'iption of, in , the Rama-
yapa, 253;
— provided with Sataghni, 105.
Ayuktika, a military officer, 228.
Ayu^a, the five sons of, Maha-
rathas, 13-14.
Baden-Powell, 130, 150.
Balarfima, 205;
— ^ musala weapon of, 114;
Bali, sons of, 58.
Bapa, author of the Har^acaritat
165.
Barbosa, 206;
— on Indian ships, 298;
— on the pay of soldiers in Vijaya- •
0 nagar, 212.
Battle Array, Daiva,^ G&ndharva
and mfinuisia, 221.
BatUefield, site for the, 243-47.
INDEX
401
Baudhayana Dharma ^dstra, 187;
— on the Brahman taking to the
military, 195.
Bha{favad Gitd, 9.
Bhdgavata, scenes from portions
of the, represented in the Vi^pu
temple at Td4patri, 142.
Bhapd^f ^ Asura, 85;
— five arms used against, 102n ; ^
— war of, with Lalita, 205^
Bharadvaja, on diplomacy, 304.
Bharata, son of DaSaratha, 52, 128;
— camp of, on the banks of the
R. Ganges, 242;
Bliarhut sculptures, 131-2.
Bhasa, dramatist, 56;
— reference to espionage in the
works of, 354.
Bhattacharya, 130, 146.
Bheda, 299, 313, 324, 327, 328-9.
Bhima, (Bhimasena), 64, 270, 271,
331, 332, 349.
Bhindipaias, 261.
Bhigma, 212, 224, 226, 348;
— taking away of three girls by,
17;
— bow of, 96;
o
— on the best fort, 252;
— on the manufacture of arms,
216;
— on the origin of the asi, 116-7;
— on the qualifications of an
ambassador, 340;
— vyQhas adopted by, in the Afa/id-
bhdrata war, 269, 270, 271, 272,
279;
— war of, with SSlvaraja, 124.
Bhoja, King, author of the Sama~
rdngana sutradhdra, 125, 254,
276;
• — aifthor of the Yukti-kalpataru,
289. ^
BindusAra, conquest of the Deickan
by, 283; **
— foreign relations of, 335;
D— 51
Birdwood, 130.
Black Prince, 12.
Bodhisattva, 138, 140.
Borobudur, sculptures at, repre-
senting Jataka scenes, 144.
Brdhmartas concept of a ship sail-
ing heavenwards in the, 276.
Brahmdn^ PurCii^, 85, 102/1, 109n,
166n.
Brahman, by caste or profession,
not to be killed in battle, 70;
— no sin in killing a, in war, 67;
— and the army, 193-5;
— duties of the, 42.
— service of the, in a war, 76-7;
— treatment of a, who wants to
bring about peace, 69.
BrUadarliannltUdstra, the Laghvar-
hannitis&ra considered to be an
abridged version of, 80.
Brhadratha, Pupyamitra Sunga,
the Senapati of, 223.
Brhannala, 15.
Brhaspati, 269;
— law-book of, 359;
— on the wealth seized in war,
78.
British Commonwealth, character
of the, 32.
Buddhist literature, on war ethics,
79.
Bukka I, embassy of, to the Chi-
nese emperor, 296.
B.urgess, 130.
Cakra, 123.
Camupa, (Dapdabhinatha) a mili-
tary officer, 230.
Camupati, a military officer, 230.
Candragupta (Maurya), 28, 334,
335.
— admiralty of, 186;
— cavalry force of, 174;
— control of the army of, 185;
— dark period before the accession
of, 51;
402
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
— foreign relations of, 334-5;
— military organisation under,
232-3 and 232n;
— release of the Prisoners of war,
captured by, 73.
Candragupta (Gupta ifeing), 34.
Candragupta II, 218, 227.
Candraketu, 282.
Cfipa (bow), 96.
Capturing of girls, a factor of war,
16-18.
€&ra (spies), 157, 219, 220, 337.
Carrier-pigeons, use of the, 283.
Caste, implications of, 8-11.
Cattle lifting, as a factor of war,
14-16.
CatuMatika, a work of Aryadeva,
62-3.
Caturanga(bala), four-fold divi-
sions of the army, 164, 157, 182.
Ceylon, conquest of, by Vijaya, 138.
Ceylon, diplomatic relations bet-
ween, and India, 291-94;
— RSvapa, King of, 17.
Chalcolithic period, metals in the,
129.
ChalUkyas, navy of the, 292-3.
Chariots, 157-166.
Chess, game of, and the four-fold
force, 163-6.
Chitore, representation of elephants
at, 140-41.
Chdlas, fleet under the, 190;
— no chariots in the army of the,
166;
•— organisation of the army of the,
195-7;
— navy of the, 293-5.
— sculptures, 141-2.
Cintdmaifti, 382.
Ctntatr&ya temple to V^pu at
T94Patrl, 142.
Cipher writing, 355 and n.
Citrayuddha, same as Kiitayuddha,
85.
C5|a pass, 34.
Commissariat, the, 182-86.
Conjeevaram, sculptures at, 143.
Conquered country, provision for
the administration of the, 73-4.
Crusades, 11-12.
Cunningham, 130, 132, 133;
— on the value of the study of
sculptures, 131.
Dadaji Kop4adev, 46n.
Dadhici, a 9ei, mukta and amukta
weapons made from the bones of,
115-6;
— the vajra made out of the back
bone of, 110.
Daiva form of war, 236, 265.
Daivajfla Vildsa, a mss. work, 362.
Dalavay, Minister of war, 228.
Damayanti, 108;
— marriage of, with Nala, 50.
D&na, 299, 313, 324, 326-8, 399.
Dapda, 299, 313, 314, 324, 327, 328,
329, 331;'
— (punishment), origin and deve-
lopment of, ,4-6.
Dan^adJiara (King), 4.
Dapdaka, an ancestoi» of Rg.ma,
conquest of the Dakhan by, 24.
Dapdamarga,' 239.
Darius, maritime expedition of,
286;
— expedition of, to Sind, 334,
Dardaka, 327.
Darudurga, 255.
Dasarajya yuddha, in the
Veda, 236.
Daiaratha, 43, 161, 310;
— Vasiptha’s administration of the
Kingdom after the death of, 52.
Defence and aggression, as fhctors^
^ of war, 25.
Defence complex, a source of war,
23-5.
Delisle Burns, 8.
Index
Departments of the Army: —
War Council, 201-6;
war finance, 206-14;
the arsenal, 214-17;
Foreign Department, 217-19;
Intelligence Department, 219-20;
Army officers, 220-33.
De^ifca, elders or advisers, 157.
Devanampriya, a title of A^oka,
82.
Deva Kaya II, levy of tribute by,
of Ceylon, 295-6. Pegu, Tenas-
serim, etc.
Dhanurveda, 44;
— attributed to Vi^vamitra, 122;
— classification by, of the weapons
of offence and defence, 93.
Dhanus, (bow), dZff.
Dharmaditya, grant of, 286.
Dharma vijaya, 58, 235;
— character of, 81 ff.
Dharma yuddha, 59, 71, 81, 235.
Dh|*§tadyumna, 226.
Dhytara^tra, King, 30, 63, 302, 303;
Dighanikdyaf 332-3j*
Diplomacy and war, the six-fold
policy, 312-24;
— , history of, 299-312;
— Instruments of, 62;
— international relations, 334;
— seven expedients of, 324-34.
Diplomatic agents, 337-66.
Dlvodasa, a king, 78.
Draupadi, marriage of, with the
P24<}ava brothers, 51.
Dravidians, earlier advancement of
political institutions among the,
3.
Dropamukha, a Eaki^asa, 280.
^ Drupada, father of Draupadi, 51;
— embassy of, to DhrtarS^tr^i»
348. ^
Durga, war^ (loddess, 146, 148-9;
•— war of, with Sumbha, 281, 347.
Durmukha, a R&k^aaa, 286.
403
Duryodhana, 15, 30, 64, 221, 349.
— army of, 184.
— helmet of, 128.
— war council of, 205.
Dupyanta, marriage of, with
l3akuntal&, 49;
— skill of, in archery, 97.
Dfita, 337, 360.
Dvaidibhava (duplicity), 312,
322-4.
Dvandvayuddha, 159.
Edgerton, 130.
Eiynar, robber and pillager, 41.
— cattle lifting by the, 15;
— invocation of Kojfravai by, 2;
Ekacchatra, one-umbrella royalty,
38.
Ekardtf position of, 37-8.
Elephants, in warfare, 166-74.
Euthydemos, 287.
Fear impulse, as a background of
war, 25-8.
Pergusson, 130.
Flags, in ancient India, 367-75;
— in the battlefield, 246-7;
— in the chariots, 164-5;
— ' on elephants, 169.
Foreign Department, 217-9.
Foreign policy in ancient India,
218.
Forts, construction and siege of
the, 247-64.
Frederick the Great, 240, 241.
Friar Odoric, 190.
Gajadhyak^, (Gajkmktya), 167.
Gapapatideva, extirpation of
piracy by, 295.
Gfindhara sculptures, value of the,
140-41;
— elephant sculptures at. 167.
Gandbarva form of marriage, 17,
18.
Gapesa, 146;
— symbolic representation of vie*
tory, 148.
404
War In ANClafiNT iNbtA
Gs^ttlmika* a military officer, 228.
Gautama, and monkhood, 65.
— on the Brahmans taking to the
military, 195.
Gopinatha Rao, 130, 145.
Grahavarman, assassination of, 92.
Or&inmi, a minor military official
in the Rg Vedic Period, 220.
Greece, weapons of warfare used
in ancient, 100-101.
Griffith, on dharma yuddha, 84-5.
Guha, lord of the Ni^a^has, 128.
Gulmapa (Gaulmika), a military
officer, 229.
Guptas, foreign office under the,
217-8;
— military budget under the, 208;
— military officers under the,
230-31.
Haihaya clan, 35.
Haihaya King, responsibility of
the, for the death of Jama-
dagni, 29.
Halebid, Hoysaledvara temple at,
scenes from the Rdmdyatia in
the, 143.
Hanum&n, 259, 286;
— as an ambassador, 343-46,
Harappa, weapons found at, lOOw.
Haraprasad Sastri, 63.
Harihara II, of Vijayanagar, 295.
Hariharaoaturangaina), 14, 175,
2ilnf 266n;
— a mss. work, 363-4;
— classidcation of forts in the,
254;
— on the making of arrows, 98n.
Harisena, foreign minister of
Samudragupta, 218.
MarhHmidy 163, 204, 205, 281;
^ on the dataghni, 105.
Har^a, 288;
fleet of, 289;
relatloi^ of, with Nepal and
China, M5.
Har^acorifa, of Bkpa, non-mention
of the chariot in the, 165;
— reference to aerial machines in
the, 282.
HaatyHyuri^eda, 172.
Havell, E. B., 130, 131, 135, 145.
Hazara Ramasvami temple at
Hampi, scenes from the Rkma-
yapa in the, 143.
Hemacandra, author of the Lagh-
varhannltisdrdf on the prin-
ciples to be followed in war, 80.
Henry VIII, 218.
Herodotus, 286;
— on the sanctity of tha. ambas-
sador, 61-2.
Hiuen Tsang, on the fleet of the
King of Assam, 190;
— on the punishment of a defeated
general, 79.
Hopkins, on the functions of a
charioteer, 161.
Horses, origin of the, 175.
Hunter, 136.
Hydaspes, battle of the, 164, 170,
244, 246.
Iconography, Indian, vafue of, to a
student of military history, 146-
150.
Ilanko Adiga], 337, 382.
Imayavarambatif a title of the
Gera King, 33.
Imayavaramban Nedumoeral&tan,
385.
Imperial sway, character of, in
ancient India, 32-3.
Indo-Aryans, and warfare, 2-4.
Indra, thunderbolt of, 110.
Indrajaia, 88, 324, 331.
— an expedient of diplomacy,
332-3;
ftdrajit, 144-6, 163;
— axid the M&y& SIt&, S9.
iQdUB valley finds, few horses In
the, 174.
Index
405
Infantry, a ufilt of the army, 179-
18^.
Intelligence Department, 219-20.
Iron,s use of, 129.
Jaina literature, on war ethics, 79-
80.
Jamadagni, father of ParaSur&ma,
death of, 29.
Jaraeandha, 204, 205.
Jatayu, 280.
364.
Jayadeva, author of the A5vayur-
veda, 177.
Jayadratha, 128.
Jealousy, as a background of war,
30-31.
Jerusalem, 12.
Jlvakacintdrnani, reference to fly-
ing machines in the, 282.
Jivita Gupta II, fleet of, 289.
John of Montecorvino on the
Indian ships, 297-8.
Kakatiyas of Warangal fleet of the,
190;
— Motupalle, the (^iet port of the
295.
Kakusthavfrman, a Kadamba
King, 320.
Kak^ivfln, birth of, 53.
K&lid&sa, 262, 310, 359, 383;
— knowledge of, of the bow, 96-7;
— on the use of the §akti, 106;
— on Weapons of war, 98,
Kalinga, conquest of, by AiSoka,
28, 82, 89;
— expedition of Karup&kara Top-
4alm&n against, 90;
K&mandaka, 61, 323, 330;
-—on the consultation of wise men
by^ King, 204;
— on five kinds of fortresses, 252;
— on the limbs of a vytlha, 269 ; •
^ on the ft&lika, 108. -
Kditumdakartlti(sdra) see K&man-
daklyk.
K^mandakiya (Kkmandaka niti-
sara, KdmandakinltU 324, 333;
— on ambassadors, 339-40;
— on the march for the battle,
238;
— on maya, 331-2;
— on indrajaia, 333.
Kambojas, colonisation of Cambo-
dia by, 144.
Kampala, battle of, with Angada,
125.
Kanaka, a King conquered by
Senguttuvan, 28-9;
— taken prisoner and later libe-
rated by Senguttuvan, 73.
Kanarak, sculptures in the temple
at, 135-6, 147.
Kandacara, same as Skandavara,
241.
Kapika Bharadvaja, (Kapika) a
political thinker, 38, 302, 304,
306, 307.
Kani^ka, 131.
Kannaki, 28.
Kapvas, age of the, 51.
Karikal COJa, Atan II wounded by,
56.
Kdrmuka type of fortresses, 254.
Karpa, 178.
Kartavirya Arjuna, 35, 106.
— a Rathi, 13.
KarupSkara TopdaimSn, expedition
of, against Kalinga, 90.
Kashmir schools of art, traditions
of the, in Ankhor Vat, 144-5.
Kau<fitakl Brdh’m.O/tjudt 60, 94, 98,
110, 248.
Kautallya, see AHhaidstra, 88.
174, 193, 214, 252, 389.
Kautalya, (C&pakya), 56, 61, 111,
155, 188n, 193, 307, 308, 309, 315,
316, 325, 326, 339, 355, 357, 359;
(See also Artha4d$tra) , .
406
WAR IN ancient INDIA
— release by. of prisoners cap-
tured by Candragupta, 73.
Kavanmaram, 384-6.
King, disposal of the slain, in
battle. 63-4;
— not to take active part in the
actual operations. 246.
Kingship in India, origin of. 3.
Kirtivarman II. 293.
Kodap(j[a. same as bow. 93.
464.
Kodat^a man4<^nat on the charac-
teristics of a bow. 96.
Kojryavai. 381, 382;
— invoked by the Eiynar, 2.
K6valan, father of Mapimekalai.
46.
Krpa. 64;
— mail armour of, 128.
Kr9Pa, 9. 64, 178, 205, 348;
— King of Dvaraka, 30;
— ambassador from Vasudeva to,
346;
— ^bow of, 96;
— the charioteer of Arjuna, 159;
-r- embassy of, 339, 349;
— navigation of the air, by, on
his Garuda, 280;
— on the law of warfare, 57.
Kr$padeva H&ya. author of the
imuhtamdiyada, 212;
— and Ceylon, 296;
— Council of, 206;
on the appointment of Brah-
mans to the military, 194.
Krsnan Rftman, a Brahman mili-
tary pIBcer under Rajar&ja, 194.
K^atriyas, and the army, 190 ff;.
— and asceticism, 54-5;
iftatriyas, importance of the. 6-6;
•— mentality of. favourable for
war, 8;
— marriage of, 47-8;^
— outfit of^Jhe, 46-7;
training of the, 42-6.
Ksetrajfia. position of a, 53.
Ktesias, Indica of, 260.
Kulasekhara, 292.
Kulottunga I, overseas relations
of, 294-5.
Kumara, Crown Prince, 226-7.
Kumari, 249.
Kumaramatya Pythivisena, Com-
mander-in-Chief of Kumara-
gupta, 194.
Kumbakonam. sculptures in the
Sarangapapi temple at, 143.
Kurah the, on ambassadors, 350;
— reference to spies in the, 364,
356-7.
Kural’Venhdy 384.
Kuruk§etra, battle at, 183, 198, 236,
242, 246;
— charcoal, a war material in the
battle of, 103;
— Commanders in the battle of,
221.
— the historic battle of, 30-1;
KuSa, 35.
Ktltayuddha, 59, *60, 61, 81, 84, 85,
86, 87, 88, 235;
— tactics in the, 272-3. ^
Laghvarhannltisdra the, a work of
Hemacandra,^ 80.
Laguda, a kind of weapon, 108.
Lakkappa Dappaik, voyage of, to
the frontier of Ceylon, 296.
La1c$av4iprakd4a, 98n, 105n, 106»,
107n, lOOih llln, 112n, 113»,
117n, 118)t, 166n. 177, 247ti, 266.
Laknmapa, 97, 111. 261, 281;
— engagement of. with Atik&ya,
125.
Lallta. war of, with Bhapd^i, 205,
207. •
(Land fights, 236j(f.
£aAk&, 17, 240, 249, 269, 280, 286,
348, 346, 846; •
— caAue In, 252-3;
— provided with ^ta^bni, 105;
INDEX
407
— siege of, 261;
— tactics in the war of, 264-5.
Lankapura DapcJanSyaka, 292.
Lauklka Nydya Sanyraha of
Haghunatha, 22.
Lava, a son of Rama, 35, 282.
Laws of war, punishment for the
breaking of the, 91.
Lobha vijaya, 235;
— character of, Slff,
Louis IV. 264n.
Mfidhavi, mother of Mapimekalai,
46
Madura, fortification of, as des-
cribed in the Maduraikkdnji,
256.
Madtiraikkahjif the, 373;
— on the fortification of Madura,
256.
Maginot Line, in France, 247,
264n.
Mahabalipuram, Pallava art at,
141.
Mahdbharata, the, 15, 21, 38, 47, 48,
53, 62, 64, 76, 91, 109, 110, 115,
116, 141, J163, 170, 177m, 178; 195,
206, 217, 230, 255, 280, 332;
— description in, on 4he treatment
of the wounded in war, 75;
— diplomacy in the, 301-4;
— mapdala idea in the, 311;
— on the Cara, 219-20;
— on additional taxation during
periods of war, 212-3;
— on the monthly pay of a war-
rior, 211;
— on the navy, 285;
— on the units of the army, 198;
— reference to spies in the, 353;
« — scenes from the in the temple
at Ankhor Vat, 144-5;
— schedule jOf military officers
according to the, 228-9;
— use of Sgneya astras referred
to in the, lOZff;
— war, the, 30-1, 269-72;
— armour in the, 128.
Maharath(a)is, 13, 14.
Mahdsandhivigraha, 217.
Mahasenapati, see Senapati, 223,
225.
Mahdvam^a, the, on the diplomatic
relations between India and
Ceylon, 291.
Mah§.vira, and monkhood, 55.
Mahendravai’man, 291.
Mapmud, Sultan, naval fight of, in
the Punjab, 289-90.
Maitreya, a member of Duryo-
dhana’s War Council, 205.
Makattparkdnji, 47.
Malavikdgnimitray reference to
spies in the, 359.
Malik Kafur, 174.
Mdnasdra^ilpa§dstra, on different
types of fortresses, 253#.
Mdyiavadharma^dstra, 44, 103, 235;
— on different kinds of dana, 327;
— on the qualification of the
ambassadors, 338;
— referernce to sea fights in the,
287.
Mandala, a position taken for the
discharge of arrows, 99.
— conception of, 306, 308-9.
Mangali^, W. Chalukya King,
292-3.
Manim^kaJai, 46.
— the naming ceremony of, 46.
— the Goddess of the sea, 290.
Afantrarrvukta ( discharged by
mantras), a kind of weapon of
war, 93.
Mantrayuddha, 59.
Mantrin, a member of the War
Council under the Guptas, 206.
Manu, the first king of the world,
111;
— law-^iver, 254, 327, 328, 359;
408
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
— on the disposal of the wealth
seized in war, 78;
— on the duties of the K^atriyas,
43;
— on a fort, 250-1;
— on the functions of an ambassa-
dor, 341;
— on the honouring of women,
50;
— on land fights, 236;
— on the status of a niyoga son,
63;
— on weapons of war, 98;
Manuka form of war, 235, 265.
March, in a fight, 237-41.
Marco Polo, on Indian vessels, 190.
Mdrkan4eya Parana, 160, 187, 346,
347.
M&rtApda Varma, 195.
Marriages, kinds of, 47-51.
Mdtsya nydya, (rule of the fish),
21-3.
Matsya Purdna, 22, 104, 172;
— on bheda, 328;
— on the instruments of diplo-
macy, 324-5, 326;
— on the value of Upeksa, 330.
Mauryas, army organisation under
the, 231, 232n;
Md,ya practices during the period
of the, 332 ;
— public finance under the, 207-8,
and 207it.
— War Council under the, 206.
M&y&, 324, 331-32.
Megasthenes, 334;
— on cavalry, 174-79;
— on the chariots, 169, 162-3;
— on the control of Candragputa's
army, 185;
— on elephants, 169-70;
— on the foreign office in the
Mauryan period, 217;
— on the Maur:^an army organise^
tlon, 231; , c
— on the moat round Patallputrft,
252;
— on the naval department under
the Mauryas, 189;
— on the use of iron in India,
129;
— on wars in ancient India, 71-2.
Milindapaflha, the, on the prepara-
tion of arms, 216.
Minor military officers, 228-31.
Mohamudgara, a work of SankarS,-
carya, 114.
Mohenjodaro, weapons found at,
100».
Monkeys, an ancient tribe of India,
128.
Mookerjee, Dr. R. K., 289.
Motupalle, the chief port of the
Kakatiyas, 295.
Mrtasanjlvanl vidyd, 204.
Mudgara, 123.
Mudrdrdk^asa, on the release of
prisoners by Candragupta, 73;
— reference to the spy system in
the, 359.
Mukta (thrown), a kiipi of weapon
of war, 93.
Muktdmuktcf, a kind of weapon of
war, 93.
Musala, 123.
Nabhaga, King, gave away king-
doms, as sacrificial offerings to
Brahmans, 76.
Nai^adha, 108.
Nakkirar on Nedufijelian II’s
treatment of the wounded in
war, 75.
Nakula, author of the Adva^dstra,
177.
Nala, marriage of, with Damjfc*
yanti, 50;
— a master of horne science, 177.
Nandikkalamhakam, 292.
Napoleon, 240.
NUrada, on diplomacy, 304-6.
INDEX
409
Naradurga, 255.
Narasimhavarman I, 194;
— and Ceylon, 291-2.
NaviyddaprahhUy naval commander
in Vijayanagar, 190, 296.
NSyaka, head of ten senapatis
according to Kautalya, 222;
r- a military officer, 228, 229, 238,
240.
Nedufijeiian II, treatment by, of
the wounded in war, 75.
Nlcolo dei Conti, on Indian ships,
298.
Nikumbhala, 261, 262.
Nila, 240, 265.
Niti, an ethical principle of war,
68.
NltiprakdWca, 123, 181, 185;
— on the division of the weapons
of war, 93, 94-5;
— list of weapons given in the,
119.
— on the respective position of
the Kumara and Senapati, 226-7.
NUi^dstm, based on religious
ideas, 68. *
Nitivdkydmrta, a work of Soma-
deva, 80? 225.
Nidcala, a position ^taken for the
discharge of arrows, 99-100.
NiSumbha, 347.
Niyoga, 52, 53.
Nrpatunga, 292.
Nuniz, 206.
Numismatics, evidence for a study
of Indian military history, 150-
151.
OkktlrmSjSattiyar, a poetess, 385.
Padika, a military officer, 229.
Padmaka type of fortress, 253,
PallSvas, ship t3T)e of coins of the,
292. ^
Palnl, sculptures in the temple at,
148.
JPSrti^yas, the, and Ceylon, 292.
D— 52
Parakrama Papdya, 292.
Paranjoti (§iruttop.cJar), 194.
Parantaka, 292, 293.
Pard^arasamhitd, 166n.
Parafiurama, 14, 111;
— persecution of the K^atriyas
by, 29-30.
Pataliputra, moat round, 252.
Pattini Devi, consecration of a
temple for, 28-29.
Pattipa (Pattipala), a military
officer, 228, 229.
Peace, psychological barrenness of,
11-12.
Peykkuravaif a dance, 14.
Plato, on the sanctity of the
ambassador, 61.
Plethron, a unit of Greek measure-
ment, 252 and n.
Portuguese, the, 190.
Porus, 131, 236, 242, 246.
Pradhana Senapati, see Sena^ti,
225.
Prahasta, 222, 227, 229.
Prahita, ZZl, 352.
Prakaiayuddha, 59.
Pra§a, 125.
Pratardana, a king, 77-8, 364.
Prince Peerless, of the Jataka, 101.
Prisoners of war, treatment of the,
72-3.
Propitious rites on the eve of war,
65-7.
Prtana, a unit of the army, 230.
Prthivi Raja Cahamana, the sad
fate of, 92.
Pugnacity, as a factor of war, 19.
Pulake^in II, 291, 293;
— no chariots in the army of, 166;
— relations of, with Persia, 335;
— victory of Siruttopdar against,
194.
Pulumayi, coins of, 288.
‘Pur', 248.
Piiramlnilru, 31, 385;
410
WAR IN ANCIENT INDIA
deacription of asura yuddha in
the, 89-90.
Pufopporul VexLhdmdlai, 15.
Pu^paka vimana, 281, 282.
Puoyamitra Sunga, the Sen&pati
of Brhadratha, 228.
Ragbu, 262.
Raghuixm^a, 44, 97, 115, 310;
— referonoe to boats and ships in
the, 288.
HftJ&ditTa, ChOla, stabbed by
BQtuga, 141-2.
Rajarftja, 194;
— marriage alliance of, 327 and n;
— invasion of MalainEdu by,
S40-41;
— overseas conquests of, 293.
H&iasimba Papaya, 292, 373.
RaJasQya, a sacrifice, 35.
Rdjdvaliy the, 291,
Rdjavijaya, the, 112.
RftJSndra, marriage alliances of,
827;
— overseas conquests of, 293-4.
RSjyafirl, incarceration of, 92.
Rahtakog^tge, 212.
Riama, 17, 18, 24, 34, 89, 97, 128,
144, 145, 237, 242, 263, 265, 273,
282, 283, 292, 293, 353, 354, 360.
— alliance of, with Vali and
Vibhipapa, 313;
— embassy of Angada from, to
R&vapa, 348;
— entertainment of Vibhipapa as
an ally, by, 156;
— flight of, from Lanka, to
Ayodbya, 280-81;
— Hanumftn, the ambassador of,
848-8;
— march of, to Lanka, 240-41;
— marriage of, with Sita, 51;
— on diplomacy, 339;
— siege of Lanka by, 261;
taking of, by Viavamitra, 43;
— use of brahmadatta bapa by,
125.
RSmayana, the, 18, 21, 88, 89, 109,
115, 128, 163, 170, 217, 222, 227,
229, 249, 261, 343;
— the castles of Lanka and
Ayodhya described in the, 252-3;
— diplomacy in the, 301;
— on three kinds of envoys,
838-9;
— reference to chariots in the,
159;
— reference to ships in the, 286;
— reference to spies in the, 353-4;
— scenes from the, at Borobudur,
and Ankhor Vat, 144-5;
— scenes from the, in the Hoy-
saledvara temple at Halebid, and
the Hazara Ramasvami temple
at Hampi, 143;
— story of the, represented in the
Vippu temple at Tadpatri, 142,
144;
— sati in the, 54;
— use of agneya.astras referred to
in the, 103j(f.
Ramefivaram temple, ,of Siva at
Tadpatri, 142, 167.
RanabhaT^^drQdhikarana, an
accounts oflacer in charge of the
military budget in the Gupta
period, 208.
RavLoMpikd, 201.
Rapson, on the martialling of the
forces, 180.
Ratbadbyak^a, Superintendent of
chariots, 161-2.
Eathis, 13.
Ratnins, 220.
Havana, 144, 237, 249, 261, 562,
^265, 288, 318;
— abduction of Sita by, 17;
— embassy of Angada ^ to, trota
Rama^ 8^7-8;
INDEX
411
— flight of, with Sitfl, to Lanka in
his aerial car, 280;
— and Hanuman's embassy, 34o'6;
— spies of, 363, 360;
— Council of, on the eve of the
war of Laflka, 156;
— on the value of consultation,
. 202-4.
jpp Veda (SaJimita), 34, 86, 103,
112, 113, 129, 245, 248, 337;
— Cavalry during the days of the,
174;
— Daiarajya Yuddha in the, 236;
— diplomacy from the days of the,
300;
— equipment of the soldier during
the days of the, 126;
— image worship during the
period of the, 146;
— metals in the period of the, 129;
— recognition of the importance
of, in the period of the, 206;
— reference to aerial navigation
in the, 276;
— reference to ^tapada board in
the, 154;
— refere||ce to boats and ships in
the, 284-6;
— reference to the chariots in the,
157, 159;
— reference to spies in the, 351-2;
— reference to war-elephants in
the, 167;
— ships and boats known in the
days of the, 186-9;
— warfare during the period of
the, 69j(r.
Roman Empire, character of the,
32.
Rome, weapons of warfare used in
ancient, 101.
Rudrambft, K&katlya queen, 295^
Saciva, (6andhi vigrahika) mem-
ber of the war office, 222, 227-8,
281.
ipadangay 182-3 and 182n.
Sadasivaraya, and Ceylon, 296.
§adgupyam, sixfold policy. 312-24.
Sahasranika, a military officer, 228.
Saktis, 227.
Sakuntalfl, marriage of, 49.
Sdkuntalam, 97.
SdUhotram, a treatise on horses,
177.
SSJva Raja, war of, with Bhi^ma,
124.
galya, 178.
Sama, 299, 313, 324, 325-6, 329.
Samapada, a position taken for the
discharge of arrows, 99.
Samardnganasutradhdray a work
of King Bhoja, 125, 254, 282;
— on the principles of the con-
struction of flying machines,
276-9.
Samputa, a position taken for the
discharge of arrows, 100.
SamSraya (friendship), 312, 321-
322.
Samudragupta, 34, 233;
— - the Allahabad Pillar Inscription
of, 217-8, 289;
— foreign relations of, 335;
— ideal of the conquests of, 336;
— treatment by, of the rulers of
Dak^inflpatha, 73-4.
Sanchi, sculptures at, 131, 132, 134.
Sandhi, or the treaty system, 312,
314-6.
Sandhivigraha (Mahasandhi-
vigraha), a military officer, 217,
230-31.
Sandhivigrahaka, 227, 228.
Safijaya, 348, 349.
Sankaracarya, on moft^,. 114.
Sankar^apa, coat of mail of, 128.
Santals, use of redhot arrows by,
102.
Sdrasangraham, 364.
Sargon I, 1.^
m
Wab in anci^int India
Sarma, tbe cognomen of a Brah-
man, 46.
Sarvasainyadbikari minister of
peace and war, 228.
Sarvasenapati, see Sen3.pati," 225.
Sastra Yaj&a, before the Maha-
bharata war, 64.
Satagbni. 123, 125, 251, 252.
Sat&mika, brother of Virata, 128.
— • a military officer, 228.
8ati, 64.
gatrujlt, king, 174. 279, 304.
Satyaki, 270.
Snuryat an ethical principle ot
war, 68.
Sculpture, evidence of, on arms
and armour, 130-37 ;
— representation of elephants in,
167.
Seleukos, Niketor, 233;
— Megasthenes, the ambassador
of, 129;
— relations of, with Candragupta,
335.
Senamukha, a military officer,
229.
SerUAni, military general in the
^Ig Vedic period, 220, 227.
Senapati, (Pradhan Senapati,
Sarvasenapati, Maha Senapati)
commander-in-chief, 221, 222, 223,
224, 225, 226, 229, 238.
Senaprenatara, a military officer,
221, 230.
Senguttuvan, 382;
— elephant force of, 174;
— establishment of dUtas of, 350;
— expedition of, to North India,
28-29, 34; ^
— fleet of. 190, 291;
liberation of Kanaka and Vijaya
by, 73;
performance of vedic sacrifice,
85;
— prayers of, on the eve of his
march, 63-4;
— sending of envoys by, to North
India, 347;
— spies of, 360.
spoken disparagingly by the
Paip^y^L ^d cola monarchs, 71;
— Sfira, waging of the war of the
Ganges by, 14;
— worship of God by, after vic-
tory, 76.
Ships in ancient India, 187-8.
Siegfried line, 264n.
6iddhdnta§ekhara, 247n.
Silappadikdram, the. a Tamil clas-
sic, 2. 14, 15, 41, 70. 337, 350,
381.
Simhavi?nu, defeat of the Ceylo-
nese King by, 291.
Siruttopdar, victory of, against
Pulake^in II, 194.
Sita, 145, 281;
— abduction of, by Havana, 17;
— marriage of, with Rama, 51.
Siva, icon of, 148r.
Sivaji, commissariat under, 136.
&ivatatvmratndkara, 224,^317, 326;
— on the method of hostilities,
317; ‘
— on six kinds of bheda, 329;
— on sixteen kinds of dana, 327;
— on the use and construction of
fortress, 255;
— on the site for the battle-field,
243-4;'
— on the impoi^tance of \va- ele-
phants, 172;
— on the measurement of a bow,
96. ^
Skanda, 148;
wars of, 146.
Skandavara (KandacflraX, 241 and
n.
Smith, V. A., 180;
iNDEit
— on the creation of the admiralty
department, 186;
— on the Mauryaii military orga-
nisation,
^o(^aMyudha8totra, a work of
Ved&nta De^ika, liln.
$o|akulayalll Pattinam, (Naga-
patam), 295.
Solomon, 290.
Somadeva, author of the Niti-
vakydmrta, 80.
South India, trade and culture
contacts of, with foreign coun-
tries, 290j5F.
Sridapdanatha, a military oflacer
of Lalita, 227.
Srimantrinatha, a military officer
of Lalita, 227.
Sri Mara, Papdyan King, 292.
Sri Vijaya, and the Cholas, 33$;
— King of, and Kulottunga I, 295;
Strabo, 131.
Strategic considerations, 23741.
Strategy and tactics in War,
235-74. .
Subhadra, 128.
Succession^ to the throne, question
of the, 61-52.
SOdras, and the aridy, 193.
Sukra, a political thinker, 61, 155,
204, 269;
— conception of a State, 212;
— on Asura Yuddha, 89;
— on the disposal of the wealth
seized in war, 78;
— on a handsome pay. to the sol-
diers, 210-11;
— on Kfltayuddha, 88;
— views of, on mandala, 308-9;
— on the naiikas, 107-8:
— on the pinaka, 113;
— on the qualifications of a Sen*-
pati, 22»;
•— on the strategical position of
the army, 244;
m
— use of the word Sataghni by,
105;
iukranlti (sara) 95, 105, 181, 225,
228, 256;
— on an ambassador, 340;
— on armour, 127;
— on the asi, 118;
— on the composition of a good
army, 192-3;
— on military expenditure,
209-10;
— on the Pattisa, 114;
— on two kinds of n&likas, 104;
Sumantra, the charioteer of Dada-
ratha, 161.
6umbha, 347;
— encounter of, with Durga, 281.
Sundara Choja, 293.
Sun God, Conception of the, *17.8.
Sungas, age of the, 61.
Sura Asura, 287.
SOras, the Knights of ancient
India. 13.
Susarma, fight of, with the King of
Virata, 127-8.
SUta, charioteer, 160-1.
8mdharma, concept of, 9-10.
Svastika, a position taken for the
discharge of arrows, 100.
Svastika type of fortresses, 264.
^vetaketu, legend of, 47.
Tadpatri, sculptures in the temples
at, 142, 144;
TaittirJya Brdhmana, 158.
Taittirlya Samhitd, the, 337, 362.
Talaikkol, 165.
Tdpakd, 97.
Tenasserim and Vijayana^r, 296.
Ten Kings, battle of the, 245-6.
Thomas Wolsey, 218.
Timoja, 296.
Tinikkural see Kanaf, 360.
TlruvaJlUvar, a follower of the
Kautallya school, 367.
414
NvAR in ANCiENT INblA
Tolkdppiyam, 47, 382, 388;
— on spies, 360;
— reference to dGtas in the, 350.
Traiyamhaka Dhanurvedat 98».
Trisandhi, 27.
Tu^nim Yuddha (silent warfare),
86.
Vbhaya vetanas, 356.
tJdiyan Ceral, 31.
Upek^, 324, 330-1.
Vttarardmacarita, 126;
— reference to aerial cars in th<%
282.
Vahinipati, a military officer, 230.
Vaidyakatantra, 98n.
Vairocana, wife of Bali, sons of,
63.
Vaidakha, a position taken for the
discharge of arrows, 99.
Vaiisampayana, 116, 123, 156;
— description of the tomara by,
107;
— on the amukta weapons, 110;
— on the Parigha, 116;
— on the prasa, 113;
— on some minor weapons of war,
122.
Vai^yas, and the army,
vaii, 17, 313.
Vardha PurarjKi, 147, 187;
Varma, a cognomen of a K$atriya,
46.
Varthema, on Indian ships, 298.
Varupa, equipment of, 126.
Vaacoda ^G&ma, 297.
Vasi$tha, administration by, after
Daiaratha*8 death, 62;
_ on the n&rioa, 98-9n;
— use of the word Sataghni, by
JOS.
Dhafiwrveday 106.
VlBUdeva, 169, 160.
Vfttipi, captured by diruttopds^^»
W4.
Vatavygdhi, on the basis of the
sixfold policy, 312.
Vatsaraja, freed froiji captivity
364.
Vdyu Purdm, 61, 169n.
Velaikkara troops under the
Chofas, 197.
Vibhi$ama, 156, 261-2, 263, 273, 280,
313;
— on the punishment of Hanuman,
345.
Victory, celebration of, 75-8.
Vigraha, war, 312, 316-18.
Vijaya, a king conquered by §en-
guttuvan, 29 ;
— taken prisoner and later libe^
rated, 73;
— conquest of Ceylon by, painted
at Ajanta, 138-9;
— occupation of Ceylon by, 291.
Vijayanagar, 239, 241;
— army of, 183n;
— army expenditure in, 212*
— art of, 142-3;
— Brahmans and the army under,
194-5;
— military officers in, |228;
— navy under; 190, 295-7;
— war council in, 206;
— nyUhas during the dayu of
266rt; »,
Vikata, a position taken for tho
discharge of arrows, 100.
Vikramfiditya VI, 292.
Yikrarmurvailya^ reference to
aerial car in the, 281-2.
Vinayftditya, 293.
VIrabhadra, a manifestation rf
Sira, 149-SO.
Virwcintdinavii, 364.
J^lracintibMViX BhOifinrveda,
98, 106it. ^ ,
V!rag(k)al6, memorial 6ton^l42,
143, 883, 384.
INDEX
Vlramitrodaya Lak^ariaprakd&a,
364.
Virarajendia, embassy of, to the
Chajukya King, 360-1.
Viras, the knights of ancient
India, 13.
* Virasena, Saciva of Candragupta
II, 227.
Virata, fight between the king of,
and Smyrna, 127-8.
VirQpfik^a, conquest of Ceylon by,
295.
Visnu, weapons of, 146-7.
— law giver, book of, 360;
— on the disposal of the wealth
seized in war, 78.
Vimudharmottara, the, 98n, 166n,
167,
Vimudharnwttara Piirdnat 214,
Vi$y,xi Purdv^a, the, 280, 346.
Vi$ti (commissariat), transport
and navy, 157.
Visvatantra Jataka, 137.
Vi§vamitra, taking of Rama by,
43;
— the Dhanurveda attributed to,
122. ^
Vratyas, 6-7 /». ^
Vytra, 97, 110.
Vyasa, a member of Duryodhana’s
War Council, 206.
VyOhas in war, 266-72.
War, kinds of, 69^r, 235, 265;
— aerial, 275-84;
— naval, 284-98;
— causes for the waging of, 317;
— curiosities of, 381-8;
espionage in, 351-61;
— ethkJs of the, 68-75;
— Manuscript® and books on,
367-6; '
miscellaneous regulations re-
lating to^ 78-80;
415
— nature of, in ancient India,
38-9;
•— prayers to Gods, before the
commencement of, 63;
— psychological factors of. Iff;
— rules observed on the battle-
field, 67-73;
— tactics in, 264-74;
— treatment of the wounded in,
74-5.
War Council, 201-06;
— of Duryodhana, 221.
War Finance, 206-14.
War Loans, 212-14.
War music, 377-9.
War Relief, to the relatives of the
deceased, 212.
War of Relics, sculpture of the,
at Sanchi, 134.
Warrior’s code, the, 41-57.
Weapons of war: —
— Agneya-astra ( fire-arm ) , in
ancient India, 101-106;
— agni-bana, 102;
— agnicurna, composition of ihe,
104-5;
— Axnuktaj (not thrown) a kind
of weapon of war, 93.
— Amukta weapons, 110-119;
— arrow, methods in the discharge
of, 99-100;
-- Asi (sword), 116-9 and 118«.
— Asidhenu, (Asiya§ti?) a small
dagger. 111, 119;
— astra, a weapon of war, 95n,
112;
— Aurva, a fire-arm, 104;
— ayah, 104;
— ayogu^a, (bullet of iron), 104;
— bhindipala, 106, 108;
— bhusupdi. a weapon of war,
109n;
— Cakra, 109;
— crow-bow, 97;
416
WAR IN ANGIEKT INDIA
— daQ^as&ra, a kind of amw, 9S;
— dantakaQt^, 109;
— durghaoa, 106, 107, 114;
— druna, making of the, 96;
— fire-arms, popular in India ever
before the advent of the Portu-
guese, 106-6;
— gad&, a heavy rod of iron, 113,
115, 123,
— gfipdiva, of Arjuna, 96;
— Godiras, a spear, 111.
— halayudha, 110;
— i9U hand sword? arrow? 92ff,
110-11.
— - Kanapa (Kupapa), 104.
— Karmuka, same as bow, 93;
— making of the, 96.
— Ka^astra, 110;
— ^Kodapd^* making of the, 96;
— W^epyo-agni-yoga, fire-arm, 102;
— Kunta, a lance, 112, 125.
— Lavitra, a sickle, 112;
— madantagara, a kind of sword,
110.
— mau§tika, fist-sword, 114-115;
— mayfikhi, a staff with a hilt,
115;
— minor and mystical weapons,
119-125;
— mudgara, 106, 113-14;
— muktamukta, weapons of war
mentioned in the division, 119j(f;
— musala, 109;
— musala, a weapon of Balarama,
114; 1
— musup4^> a weapon of war, 109;
— naiika, 104, 106, 107-08;
— nfirfica, 98 and 98-9», 104, 105;
— nistrimda, a kind of sword,
119; ;
paradu, battle-axe. 111;
— parigha, 115;
— pSfia, a noose, 108-9;
— pattlfia, a kind of spear, 110,
114;
— pinaka, (trident), ^e dilla of
Siva, 113; *
— dankha, 96
— prSrSa, 113;
— daktl (spear), 106 and n, 148.
— dara, a kind of arrow, 98;
— origin of the name, 97-8;
— dataghna(i), a firm-arm, # 105,
116;
— ^aka, a kind of arfow, 98;
— darnga, same as bow, 93;
— Sira, a ploughshare, 114;
— sthiina, (an anvil), 112-3;
— dula, 114;
— sfirmi, 103;
— tomara, 107;
— tula guda, 104;
— Vajra, (thunderbolt), of Indra,
93, 110, 133, 134, 140;
— Vajaitadi, same as astra, 112;
— Varupa-Prak§das, 109;
— Venn, a kind of arrow, 98;
— Vidvasaghati-agni-yoga, a fire-
arm, 102. *
Yajfiadri, coins of, 288.
Ydjnavalkya smrti <fh mandala,
310.
Yajur Veda Bamhitd^ 167;
— use of iron in the period of the,
129.
Yana (preparedness for attack),
312, t2b-21.
Yantramukta, a kind of weapon of
war, 93.
Yaugandharayana, minister of
Udayana, 327.
Yayati, 62;
— a RathI, 13.
Tiiktikalpataru, a work of Ishoja,
p 22, 176n, 289.
Yule, on Rajput ships^ 190.
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